Is there a “right” way for kids to play in nature? A letter I got: Dear Free-Range Kids: At my son’s former pre-k, he and another boy were picking leaves off of an overgrown bush while adults were talking. The boys were quiet, engaged, and the bush seemed pretty hardy. When the teacher and the other boy’s dad realized what was going on, there was lots of Very Concerned Talk about respecting the bush, and keeping it nice for the other kids, and sort of a glance towards me like: Really? You watched this? Whatever. It’s not like it was…
Author: lskenazy
In the fairy tale “The Princess and the Pea,” a princess is placed atop a pile of mattresses. Her exquisite sensitivity allows her and her alone to feel the pea underneath them all. You’d think that would signal to everyone: “Get away from that princess! She’s impossible!” And yet she has become a role model… For our country. A country that seems to value hyper-sensitivity as evidence of moral worth and goodness. This brings us to an amazing essay by Judith Shulevitz in yesterday’s New York Times titled, “Regulating Sex.” Shulevitz clues us into the mullings of the American Law…
“With Justice for All,” a blog about what’s wrong with our sex offender laws, ran this piece about how over the top our fears can go. The blogger, Shelly Stow, consistently nails the media for its craven habit of jumping on any sex offender-related item and turning it into something so scary that it allows us to go about our day feeling outraged, terrified and angry — three emotions we can’t seem to get enough of. Embarrassingly enough, the piece she links to is from the paper I worked at for 14 years, the New York Daily News: The headline…
A 7 year old in Westbrook, Maine, was playing at the park within eyesight of her family’s house. Someone called 911 (of course) and police swooped in. They took the girl to the precinct because, as this WMTW reporter notes, “Mom WASN’T watching.” You mean, mom didn’t devote her afternoon to sitting at the side of the park and watching her child’s every move? Tsk, tsk. The child was on her own for about an hour and, as the town’s police chief tells the reporter, “That’s a long time for a 7 year old girl to be by herself any…
This piece comes to us from Carlos Morales, a former Child Protective Services investigator, now the supremely disillusioned author of “Legally Kidnapped: The Case Against Child Protective Services.” Carlos is president and founder of Child Protective Services Victim Support, and a legal advocate for family reunification. He lives in Manchester, NH. The second edition of his book is now available with an additional chapter on “Medical Kidnapping,” excerpted below. This piece may remind you of my blog post from earlier this week about two kids removed from their home because the baby had a common bone fracture. How The Government…
Why does anyone think that a 10 year old can’t manage a short wait in a car, along with her baby sister? If it’s hot, a 10 year old can open the door. If there’s a problem, a 10 year old can call for help by phone or yelling. If the baby is anything other than fine (unlikely), a 10 year old is equipped with brains and arms to help. And yet, the Fairfield Citizen Online reports — A Bloomfield Drive woman was issued a misdemeanor summons Sunday after she allegedly left two children alone in a car. Jennifer Pavelus,…
There are probably many “greatest” teachers out there — my sons have certainly had their share — but this guy, Rafe Esquith, sounds right up there. Like REALLY up there. Teachers from around the country flock to watch him in the classroom. He has written four books on teaching. Students and their parents love him, writes Jay Matthews in the Washington Post. Esquith earned the National Teacher of the Year award, the president’s National Medal of the Arts, was been made a member of the British Empire, got other awards from Oprah, The Dalai Lama, Disney…okay, you get it. On…
Here’s another horrifying case from the Family Defense Center in Chicago. A baby’s fractured leg convinced the Department of Child and Family Services that she has been abused, despite the fact that fractures like hers are common in kids, and there was absolutely no other evidence against the parents. The state fought tooth and nail to keep the kids. I’m not sure what would’ve happened if the family hadn’t gotten expert legal help. (You can donate to the Center here.) — L. Family’s 15-Week Nightmare, After DCFS Jumps to Unsupportable Abuse Conclusions, Leads to State Backing Down From Trial Against…
From Danielle Meitiv’s Facebook page comes glorious news! MORE GOOD NEWS on the free-range front: We received the notice about CPS’ findings in the second, horrible incident when the kids were picked up on April 12th. They “ruled out” neglect, which means BOTH cases have been decided in our favor and are now closed. There is more to do to make sure this doesn’t happen to other families, but at least for now we can breathe a little easier. I’m hoping we can now ALL breathe a little easier. It is going to be harder for any CPS officials to…
It’s so strange to me that society doesn’t connect the dots. Especially dots as obvious as these: Dear Free-Range Kids: I live in Rockhampton Queensland Australia. Our town is one of the states most obese. Rockhampton has been identified as one of the cities that our states health system recently targeted to pilot a healthy eating, healthy movement program fro children (and parents) under 5. I was one of the facilitators for this program and was gob-smacked to see this sign. — Katrina .