A boy of 11 was detained in a Lego store for being “too young” to shop on his own. This note to the store comes to us from his father, Doug Dunlop, who describes himself as an outdoor dad in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I have edited this down a little, but here’s what he wrote to the store: Dear Lego, Today, our son went to the Lego store in Chinook Mall, Calgary, Alberta. He had over $200 and was intending to purchase some Lego with it. He is a frequent customer and a skilled Lego builder. He uses…
Author: lskenazy
If you’re wondering if it’s legal or illegal to let your kids walk to the park in Silver Spring, Maryland, the answer is yes. On the one hand, yes it is legal. Donna St George in the Washington Post quotes a memo drawn up by Montgomery County police and human-services officials in response to a query by the County Council about local policies. It states: “If the officer does not believe the circumstances constitute neglect, the officer can notify a parent or guardian about the situation… Again, the facts and circumstances of each case would drive the decision-making process and,…
It’s almost bizarre how much Bill Maher hits every point we make here all the time (except I’ve never mentioned Japanese businessmen and squid). Let’s hope next he will endorse the May 9 “Take Our Children to the Park…and Let Them Walk Home by Themselves” Day. And while we’re at it, here’s the president of WMTW in Maine, below. I have to admit: It is really amazing — weird, even — to hear so many different people saying what we’ve been saying here since 2008, and even saying “Free-Range.” All along, we have been insisting that it is not nuts…
Gever Tulley is a big-time hero of mine. He did one of the earliest, best Ted Talks: “5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do.” He also founded the Tinkering School in San Fran (and elsewhere now, too), where young kids are given power tools and encouragement. Then he and his wife Julie Spiegler wrote “50 Dangerous Things (You Should Let Your Children Do).” And then, in 2011, he went whole hog and founded the Brightworks school in San Fran. I visited that sunny school set in an old Best Foods Mayo factory, and it blew me away. When…
. What a fantastic myth-debunking piece in the Washington Post by Christopher Ingraham about the FACT that kids are SAFER today than…ever. First of all, there’s the decline in child mortality that we almost take for granted: In 1935 there 450 deaths for every 100,000 kids age 1-4. Today? Less than 30. Our jaws should drop. But it’s not like we have to look THAT far back to see gains. Among children of all ages, he writes, mortality rates have fallen by nearly half since 1990 and — Part of that decline is a drop in child homicides. As…
Hi Folks! Free-Range Kids still needs a logo that looks as good on a billboard as it does on an app. Prize is $100 and bragging rights. I’m extending the deadline to June 1 (my mom’s birthday) to allow more folks to enter. As for ideas, one thing I’ve realized is that depicting children in the logo ends up making it seem as if the movement is geared toward whatever age the kids in the logo are. Since the movement is about all ages (and is really about rejecting the idea that our kids are in constant danger), it’s a…
Here’s what is happening. Social historians take note: People are realizing that they WANT to be able to let their kids play outside, walk to the store, ride their bikes without fear of legal repercussions. And so they are starting to talk about this, in living rooms, on social media, and at city hall. Below is just ONE of about four or five letters I’ve gotten in the past few weeks about a town moving toward going “officially” Free-Range: Dear Free-Range Kds: I finally bit the bullet and did something that has been on my mind for ages. Your website,…
So it’s not Silver Spring, Maryland. It’s on the other side of D.C., in suburban Virginia. Still, Tom Jackman at The Washington Post reports: With zero fanfare, Fairfax County quietly released crime statistics showing that in 2014, the Washington region’s largest jurisdiction recorded its lowest crime rate in its statistical history, dating to 1970. Zero fanfare? What — are they ashamed? Isn’t this the kind of great information that makes NEWS? Apparently not. If it doesn’t bleed, it doesn’t lead. If it’s hunky-dory, there is no story. If all is terrific, let’s not get specific. It all is fine, we…
This came over the transom this morning: A homemade video of kids growing up Free-Range in Raleigh, NC. It’s by Tina Govan, an architect and mom of two of the kids in the piece. The video not only gave me hope, at one point I had to blink back tears. (Possibly because it’s mostly about boys, and seeing them go from sort of puppies to young men, well…emotional.) L Dear Free-Range Kids: The topic of free roaming kids has been in the news for a while, but especially lately, it seems, and it is one close to my heart.…
For the past five years Free-Range Kids has been sponsoring Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day. This year, in honor of the Meitivs of Maryland, we are encouraging kids to walk home on their own — if you feel they are ready — too. The way the day works is this: At 10 in the morning on Saturday, May 9, we take our kids to the local park (or they go by themselves). That way, with any luck, kids in the neighborhood who might not even know each other — different schools, different grades, different soccer…