Following up on our discussion of the security theater at Chuck E. Cheese (and what DOES that “E” stand for?), here’s a little rant about the TSA. I post it mostly because it links to such a truly fun video (below). I laughed out loud. But the TSA’s “You May Be a Terrorist If…” list of behaviors actually reminds me of “You may be a predator if…” — the way that schools send out bulletins alerting parents that, “A man was seen near the bus stop,” or, “A van slowed down by some children today.” We see the same overkill…
Author: lskenazy
How this poor girl will ever recover from the trauma she endured, I just don’t know. Australia’s New South Wales police are alerting the public to a: Child approach – Mount Annan near Camden Friday, 04 September 2015 10:56:36 AM Police are appealing for witnesses after a girl was approached by a man at Mount Annan near Camden yesterday. About 2:55pm yesterday (Thursday 3 September 2015) a 12-year-old girl was walking east along Main Street towards the intersection of Watermouth Drive on her way home from school. As she walked further towards the intersection, a man allegedly approached the girl…
There are two fears stalking today’s parents: 1 – That their child will be kidnapped and killed by a stranger, or 2 – Won’t get into Harvard. Conveniently, both fears are solved the same way: Constant adult supervision and involvement. To protect from predators, parents and institutions hover. But to protect from under-achievement, kids are channeled into early academic training. Even in pre-k they are told to sit down and study. As if they learn nothing of consequence — nothing that will get them AHEAD — by simply playing house, or ball, or let’s all be kitty cats. The problems…
Sometimes, you gotta print the whole story, just to prove that THIS IS THE WHOLE STORY. Note what is missing. (Hint: It’s not the child.) WNYT reports that: 09/01/2015 Schenectady police are investigating a report of a possible missing child. They say an unconfirmed third party saw a child get into a white Ford Econoline van around 10:30 or 11 a.m. on Tuesday near Emmons and Henry streets. The child is described as a white male, about 9 years old old and 4 feet 10 inches tall. He has a skinny build, brown hair, and may answer to the name…
From my mailbox — with a lot of good points. To whom it may concern: First of all, please let me say that I experienced excellent customer service at the Paramus, NJ location. The facility was clean, employees friendly and patient, and I have nothing negative to say about my specific experience. I’m writing to voice a complaint about the policies a Chuck E. Cheese. I find it humiliating, distrustful and sad that in order to take my children in we must be stamped and tagged upon entrance and verified upon exit. It…
An Arizona mom of four accidentally left her baby in his carseat in her shopping cart after she left the supermarket. The tot was spotted almost immediately by an off-duty cop and taken next door to a Supercuts where he remained, watched over by the locals, for 40 mins — which is the time it took for the mom, Cherish Peterson, to get home, realize her mistake, and rush back. The KPHO/KTVK correspondent reports that, “Fortunately, the baby boy is uninjured and doing fine.” Fortunately? Like, “Phew! Somehow the boy wasn’t mangled”? The kid was in a carseat in a…
This is how it’s SUPPOSED to work: Dear Free-Range Kids: I feel very fortunate that we live in Northern Alberta, Canada, where the kids play outside all day, all year! Last summer, we had the biggest scare of our lives. It was the last day of school and I was resting in my bedroom while my husband worked outside and my cousin supervised the three kids. My son, who had just turned three, wandered up to see me on the second floor, but then left. I assumed he had rejoined the party downstairs, while my cousin assumed…
Recently we were talking about the trend on campus to require “trigger warnings” — warnings on material assigned for class that could potentially traumatize a student by triggering a flashback on some misery endured. We also discussed “microaggressions” — the idea also newly popular at college that students’ casual remarks could be construed as aggressive, so it is up to everyone to make sure they offend no one with whatever they happen to say. The amazingly honest letter below explains the problem with this assumption of fragility. The Free-Range Kids angle is simple: From dumbed -down playgrounds where kids can’t…
A note I got: Dear Free-Range Kids: I need help and an answer to what I should do. I’m 14 and I feel like I’m living in hell everyday of my life… My mum and my dad never let me out to play with my friends because they think that they are a bad influence on me. The only times i’m allowed to go outside are to walk to my cousin’s house a couple of blocks away, and that’s only every 2 weeks! I am allowed to walk to a shop which is nearby if I want to get anything…
If to a hammer, everything looks like a nail, to a pediatric surgeon, everything looks like a fall hazard. That’s how we end up with studies like the ones discussed below, which strike fear in the hearts of parents. There’s something sickening about the way we assess everything in terms of risk all the time, without placing that risk — often tiny — in context, or looking at the risks associated with AVOIDING that risk. It’s like obsessive compulsive disorder — we feel compelled to picture disaster all the time. It gets to be a drag. Which is why I…