Ever wonder why most of the parents in children’s literature are far away or dead? Melinda Moore did. She’s a mother of three and “speculative fiction” author, who tweets @MelindaJMoore and is on Facebook here. She posted this story on her blog, Enchanted Spark. Children’s Lit: Call Social Services by Melinda J. Moore When I first started writing, my goal was to be a children’s and YA [Young Adult] author. I’m not sure what happened except that my ideas for protagonists became older and older. But this month, I’ve been working on a story for my two daughters for Christmas.…
Author: lskenazy
When does it make sense for the cops to stop kids and make sure they’re safe? A mom in Maine writes: Dear Free-Range Kids: My daughter, 9, wanted to hang out with a friend of hers that lives about 2 miles away. Because neither set of parents could take them, the decided to walk to the middle and then come back here. Seems like a good way to get some exercise, doesn’t it? Well her friend was stopped TWICE by police in the less than a mile it took her to meet up with my daughter! Are you…
A similar sane pregnancy piece appeared here recently, but I just got this letter this morning and the message bears reiterating: micromanagement and martyrdom are not necessary to create perfect fetuses. Or children. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I just wanted to share my story for your readers of how I am going Free-Range before I’m actually a parent. After many years, miscarriages, and rounds of IVF, we have finally confirmed that we are pregnant again. Through the process, I had joined several trying to conceive and pregnancy forums to seek support, comfort and camaraderie. While I received all of…
This show sounds fantastic, as does the underlying message: What purpose is served in underestimating kids? We are alerted to it by North Carolina family farmer Stevie Taylor, who blogs here! Enjoy — and Merry Christmas, too! – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Thought I’d share a real treasure my family discovered this month. We checked out The Human Planet DVDs from our local library. The Human Planet is a series by the BBC that explores humans living in remote areas of geographical extremes, using the same survival methods their ancestors used for hundreds of years. The series…
Have yourself a very scary Christmas… Dear Free-Range Kids: So I need some advice. I made up some postcard-style Christmas cards this year with our family photos on them. They have the pics on the front, and a greeting on the back that has all of our names. It also has our return address on it. I’m REALLY trying hard not to be paranoid about it by assuming that some perv at the post office is going to start stalking my family and steal one of my kids, but I just can’t seem to feel okay about mailing them without…
This is the form handed out at the troop my friend sends her daughter to: Girl Scouts may only be released to persons authorized for their care. It is necessary as a parent/guardian of a Girl Scout to complete this form and return it to the responsible Girl Scout adult before or at the time of the next Girl Scout meeting. As the parent/guardian of the minor noted below, you are responsible for her transportation to and from her Girl Scout activities or the bus when a trip is involved. This should be done in a timely manner. If a…
As the mom of two teens and one 1998 Oldsmobile, I appreciate this car-safety think piece, sent to us by Kari Oakes. Kari is a physician assistant, medical writer, and the mother of two teens, too. She’s also an executive board member of the nonprofit Start School Later. Parents of Teens: You’re Not Worrying Enough! My friend’s FB status last night featured this story, with the comment “Something else to worry about….” The headline? That Cheap Old Car May Carry Deadly Cost for Teens. She and her husband are buying a new car with plans to pass their older-but-serviceable…
Remember the Milk Carton Kids — the faces we saw each morning, usually under the headline, “Missing!” or, “Have you seen me?” I’d love to hear your memories of those cartons and the impact they had (or still have) on you, for a piece I’m writing. Chime in! Thanks! – L
I’ll admit — this video is fascinating. But once again, here we are preparing for the worst of the worst, which means acting as if it’s not too far-fetched to imagine the day we are assaulted by a madman with sticky tape. I realize that a segment on how to plunge your toilet, or get a turkey to brown without drying it out might not be quite as compelling. But really, Dateline. What’s next? How to de-fang snakes on a plane?
Raising Free-Range Kids is really all about raising kids who can do things on their own. Not because we don’t want to help them, but because we want them to be able to help themselves (and others!). So I was delighted to read “Five Changes I’d Make If I Could Parent Over Again,” by Tim Elmore on his engaging blog, Growing Leaders. I will post some of his other insights as the days go by. But first, Tip #1? I would do less preventing and more preparing. In our effort to ensure that our kids experience no major catastrophies in…