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…
Author: lskenazy
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…
Big news, readers! World’s Worst Mom — a reality show hosted by yours truly — is coming to TV! It debuts Jan. 22 at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. You can see little glimpses of it in this promo for the whole lineup on new channel it’s on, Discovery: Life (formerly “Discovery Fit & Health”). Woo hoo! Each week I visit a different family where one or both of the parents are very anxious for their kids’s safety. One mom, for instance, allows her son, 8, to skateboard — provided he just stands on the board, not moving, on the lawn.…
Readers — Here’s a mom in a tough spot, looking for some great ideas. When we give our kids responsibility and independence, the results are usually wonderful. But I’m not sure of exactly how to do that in this situation (young child, special needs, in hiding), other than to start out by having her girl help preparing food — a fun and immediately rewarding way to do something “grown up.” Please pitch in with more suggestions! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: Here’s our situation. I’m a single mom of a special needs 5 year old. She requires constant supervision because…
Readers, after my post about the $19.95 “Find’Em” scent kit that saves your child’s scent to share with the search and rescue dogs, one of you, a Mr. Adams, complained to the company on Facebook about its home page, which declares: “In the U.S. a Child Goes Missing Every 40 Seconds.” Mr. Adams wrote: It is absolutely abhorrent that you use such ridiculous and untrue scare tactics to peddle your wares. The statistic you cite has no relation whatsoever to the actual (extremely small) number of kids who are abducted and need to be “tracked.” Shameful. Find’em Scent Kit…
Readers — This is a clip from HBO’s The Newsroom, about a news team deciding if and how to obsess about the Casey Anthony case. Of course it’s fiction, but boy — writer Sorkin really understands how TV works. (He should!) The part where the expert in the news meeting breaks down a few minutes of the Nancy Grace show should be required viewing in every journalism school in America. Heck, in every SCHOOL in America, so we get a little insight into what’s being thrown at us and what it does to our brains. And thanks to Donald Christensen…