“What if something bad happens to them? Even if the danger is one in a million, that doesn’t matter when it’s YOUR kid.” That’s often the response that greets parents who let their kids do anything on their own. It’s certainly the reason Danielle and Alexander Meitiv are dealing with the authorities after letting their kids, 10 and 6, walk home from the park by themselves. This comment to yesterday’s post about the Meitivs strikes me as a fantastic way to stump the worriers: Make them worry more about NOT letting their kids do anything on their own. It comes…
Author: lskenazy
Children, 10 and 6, are walking home from the park, by day. Someone calls the cops. The cops scoop up the kids and bring them home in a cruiser. And then — the nightmare begins. This is the story of the Meitiv family that I’ve been chronicling here and here for a couple months. Now it has hit TV:
Considering we have municipalities making it illegal for kids to walk home by themselves from the bus stop, this doggy story from Seattle should give everyone…paws: “Did that just happen?” That’s the reaction one bus rider had in Seattle, after realizing a dog had just joined him for a ride through the city, traveling several stops to her destination: a dog park. The story comes to us from Seattle’s KOMO 4 TV, which reports that Eclipse, the black Labrador who is winning fans for riding a city bus by herself, lives very close to a bus stop. Eclipse is owned…
Nothing against spas or a bit of pampering, even though that kind of thing isn’t for me. What I have against the spa market actively targeting the under-teen crowd is the idea that kids need fun to be DONE to them, not that they can MAKE their own fun. As Julie Turkewitz reports in The New York Times: It was a day out at the spa for Paige Ehresman and her closest friends. Manicures. Hairdos. Makeup. And some gossip — about second grade. The spa industry has begun to target children in a big way, going way beyond mother-daughter manicures.…
First, et out your hankies. Then, consider what would happen if everyone in town could thank and encourage each other via a public message board. That’s what one anonymous Canadian wondered, and so he or she started a website (and Facebook account) called “Spotted in Windsor,” in Ontario. It was inspired by a similar site the local university created, according to metronews.ca. Most of the posts are positive, but not all. They run from, “Lost, one necklace,” to, “To the jerk who ran over my toe with his shopping cart,” to notes like this from yesterday: I was walking through…
Human trafficking? Is this really how it happens? Last week a man started complimenting a mom’s 2 -year-old at the store, and actually gave her $100. Yes, that IS strange. Says Inside Local: In a crime described by police as both bizarre and disturbing, two men tried to buy a woman’s 2-year-old son as she shopped at a Covina supermarket Wednesday, officials said. Both the woman and child got away unharmed following the 7:40 p.m. encounter at the Baja Ranch Supermarket, 425 S. Citrus Ave., which detectives are investigating as an attempted human trafficking case, West Covina police Lt. Tim…
A catchy song and even catchier message: LET US TOBOGGAN! For gosh’ sakes, cities: Rather than banning winter fun, let us do it at our own risk! Great big kudos to writer/performers Laura Cole and Mike McCurlie — who sure look like they’re having a blast! Share this video or go out and sled! (Me, I’m sharing the video. It’s cold out there! But if you are a winter person, go out and embrace it!) Happy weekend! – L.
Canadian school crossing guards who high-five students have been ordered to stop this obviously super-dangerous practice. According to GlobalNews: Kevin Jones, Peterborough’s manager of transportation, said the city is standing by its policy that bans any sort of physical interaction between crossing guards and the children. “Their main priority is to monitor traffic, to direct traffic and to make sure the kids are safe at the crossing and they need to devote their attention to those duties,” said Jones, who said about 10 people were at the protest. He said the guards were recently reminded of the policy after city…
A Free-Range Kids app? Yes!!! Thanks to Tanya Ruttenberg at Blue Door Apps. Amazing as it is, this is version 1.0, so please let us know any bugs you encounter or great ideas you’d like to see. Blue Door found ME and I’m so glad, because they were a pleasure to work with. Fast! Smart! Painless! Just terrific! If you go to the app store, look for Free-Range Kids. At the moment it’s hard to find, but when you do, just be aware that there’s my book ($11) and my app (free) — same name. Here is the link to…
From Des Moines, Iowa to Hamilton, Ontario, towns are banning tobogganing and/or sledding, for fear of both injuries and lawsuits. The Associated Press lists towns in Nebraska, Indiana, and New Jersey that have banned the sport, although most American and Canadian towns DO still allow it. The problem, of course, is that sometimes people get hurt sledding. The article quotes a brain surgeon who treated a young woman paralyzed for life in a sledding accident. A story like that makes me ache with sadness and terror. And then there’s the fact that some children have died in sledding accidents, too.…