The fact that a question like that — “How safe is it to let young children run errands alone?” — is fodder for a news article just shows the era we are living in. An era when normal childhood activities, as well as normal parental decisions, are framed as a threat. Or at least something that requires an “expert” opinion. (As if, by the way, there’s a single answer that covers all kids, everywhere.) That “How safe?” question was just one of cascade of safety queries sent to me by a network reporter. I answer several of them over at…
Author: lskenazy
Five kids at a working class school on Long Island gathered to chat with me a few weeks ago about the afterschool activity they’ve been doing all year, twice a week: Playing. Plain, old PLAYING. The school started offering a Let Grow Play Club, whereby an adult is supervising. But they don’t organize the games or solve the spats. They’re like a lifeguard at the beach, only jumping in when there’s an emergency. And so the kids figured out on their own what they like to do and who they like to play with, and how to solve the arguments.…
This whole movement needs an anthem — and at last we’ve got one: “Go Play Outside” to the tune of “I will Survive,” as written by yours truly and performed and filmed by the New York City Guitar School. Here you go! Lyrics below the video: Go Play Outside: The Let Grow Theme Song Sung to “I Will Survive” By Lenore Skenazy ( Lenore@LetGrow.org ) At first I was afraid, I was petrified I thought my kids could not survive if they weren’t safe inside But then they spent so many days Eating Fritos on the floor Sponge Bob…
Folks, I “live-Tweeted” this yesterday: Walked by my local elementary school. Stopped to watch the kids playing at recess. So much joy. Teacher told me I, on public sidewalk on other side of fence, no phone or photo taking, am not allowed to stand and watch the kids. She is calling security now. At first I walked away, because I am scared of confrontations. But then my curiosity and umbrage got the best of me and I walked back to see what would happen next. For reference: The sidewalk runs alongside the playground. There’s a big chain link fence between…
Everyone loves the dandelion bouquet and burnt toast that will appear in many bedrooms Sunday morning, accompanied by kids bouncing on the balls of their feet, excited to present mom with such bounty. But for a keepsake, you might want to download the free “Fill in the blank” card we have over at Let Grow. It has kids finish sentences like: “My mom ALWAYS says this: __________________” And “I learned how to do THIS from my mom: ________________________.” And “My mom makes me smile when she does THIS: _____________________________.” In other words, the card stands ready to prompt hilarious or…
You can want your kids to have a Free-Range childhood and then come face to face with the fact that, often, this is simply not “done” in your neighborhood. Most of the other kids are inside on devices or outside, in uniforms. You may worry that someone seeing your kids out and about could summon the cops. What to do? Read this. It’s a short, easy list of ideas from a dad of three for getting kids excited about going outside AND getting the neighborhood relaxed about seeing them there. Lots of good, real-world advice from a dad who has…
Here’s just one of the many eye-opening chunks of a study of 5–point harnesses (the kind that go around the waist, between the legs and over the shoulders), by social-worker-turned-movement-therapist Barbara Chutroo: Infants’ brains have fewer neurological networks than those of adults but they grow rapidly. This rapid neurological organization of experience occurs in response to sensory and movement stimulation. Piaget said the child’s first stage of cognitive development (thinking) is sensory motor, meaning that infants think through sensory and movement explorations. As a child receives sensory information, the child organizes a sense of the world and of his or…
As you may have heard, “Old Enough” is the Japanese reality show now on Netflix showing kids age age 5, 4, 3 and even 2 running errands on their own. It’s a bit extreme (2-year-olds shopping?) but also extremely lovable. The kids are sometimes a little scared or sad, but they are also incredibly determined. As I wrote over at Reason.com, we see one girl, age 4, tasked with fetching a cabbage by herself: Her mom has left one for her in the barn, but the girl assumes she must pull one from the patch. Cabbages grow on stalks thicker…
Random passersby convinced they care more about our own kids than we do? They’re rampant. “Put a sweater on that kid!” “Don’t let her ride that way.” “Your little girl looks so tired!” Those kind of comments are what we might call gran-eurisms: Things a passing grandma might say. Of course they raise a hackle or two, but what gets my increasingly short-tempered goat are the ones convinced that THEY are aware of imminent danger to your kid that YOU are too stupid, self-absorbed or awful to trouble yourself about. That’s what happened to this fellow, Johnny Roccia, when he…
See the police blotter below, for the rest of the lady’s complaint. It was sent to us by Jim Epstein, a video producer at Reason. In fact, Jim made this Halloween video with me a few years back. And, heck, he also made this video of two very, very anxious parents in Queens who finally let their kids, 10 and 12, walk to the store on their own, once I paid them a calming (“YOU HAVE TO LET THEM GO!!!!!”) visit (“I’LL STAY WITH YOU AND IT’LL BE GREAT!”). Actually, it WAS great and afterward, the parents started letting…