Readers — Willow Smith, the 13-year-old daughter of Will and Jada Smith, posted a photo of her on a bed with 20-year-old Moises Arias next to her. It is (can I be honest here?) a provocative picture. But: Why is that the government’s concern? An unnamed source told RadarOnline that the Los Angeles Department of Children & Family Services has opened a file on the family. “This won’t be just one or two visits with the family, and it will likely be an open investigation for at least a month, out of an abundance of caution.” Ah, that haunting phrase…
Author: lskenazy
Readers — Of course there are a ton of child-GPSing devices out there now, to the point where letting a child simply step outside without one may soon become a federal offense. This ad just struck me as rock bottom. It’s like a film strip for a first grader who happens to be a mom. Anyway, I don’t know what we’ll do with future felons on house arrest. Giving them an ankle bracelet won’t seem like punishment anymore. It’ll just seem nostalgic! — L \
Readers — My guess is what we have here is a terrible insurance regulation or some such. This is from Ontario, Canada: Dear Free Range Kids: My kids, grade 1 and 4, are among the few at our suburban school who actually walk to school. We have several playgrounds in our neighbourhood, and with a “buddy system” in place (my choice — not mandated), they are sometimes allowed to go to these parks unattended. Our public elementary schoolyard is one of these places. Trouble is, the school has recently, by way of formal email to all parents, decried that no…
UPDATE: Readers, this is from the mom who wrote the post, who, like me, as been very touched by your emotional support as well as your offers of financial support: “To all the kind people who have made such supportive comments, thank you very much. We are very touched by the offers that have been made of financial contributions, and though we’re not accustomed to asking for help, all of this is causing both families financial hardship, so we are looking into setting something up to accommodate that, and will let you know. Unfortunately, we are advised for now to…
Indoor playgrounds run by private companies are rife with rules, some sane, and some simply sops to over-reaching insurance policies. While I don’t recommend creating havoc or embarrassing any staff, a little civil disobedience in the name of sanity, fun and childhood seems good. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I wanted to share this experience, because it was eye-opening for me. I agreed to participate in a Field Trip today with my 2 and 1/2 year old’s Day Care. We loaded about 45 toddlers into a bus and headed off to one of these indoor play-centres that are all…
Readers, tomorrow is Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day, our fifth annual celebration of the once very normal, unremarkable activity called KIDS PLAYING WITH OTHER KIDS, without a security detail. To celebrate, just take or send your children, generally about age 7 and up, to your local park at around 10 a.m., and figure out a time and way for them to get home. Then tell them whatever they need to know, and say goodbye. This is a lovely way for them to get used to: 1 – Coming up with something to do, without a…
Folks — I have a piece that just went on up Quartz about the future of childhood. Some of the issues and items I discuss you’ve read about here already, but not this one: …By 2024, it’s possible that letting kids do anything on their own will be considered completely irresponsible, or even insane. But just knowing a child’s whereabouts won’t be enough. Parents will also know what’s going on inside their kids. Once DNA analysis upon birth becomes routine, children’s diets and lifestyles will change, says Will Palley, trends strategist at the ad agency JWT. The genomic read-out will…
Readers — Below is a 1962 letter from the British Board of Film Censors to Gregory Peck, who starred as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It’s fun to read, not just because it’s from before the world knew what a classic the movie would become, but because it’s Free-Range! Paragraph two reads: “The theme is one which touches our work closely. [Remember — these are censors!] We feel that it is not only wrong but impossible to shield children completely from the wickedness of the world, and we feel that through seeing something of it they may discover…
Hey Readers — This far-flung librarian has a question I’d like to know the answer to, too! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I was hoping you and your readers could help me. I work in an English Library in Japan. Our patrons are expats from many different parts of the world, but primarily American. I have recently had a request from a patron wanting books on “Stranger Danger.” Oh how I hate that phrase. [Lenore here: Me too!] We do have the lovely “Berenstain Bears Learn about stranger,” but I do think we need more, but not…
Readers — This is part of a “rant” from over at BabyCenter. It struck a chord (and not just because it’s partly about piano recitals). As you may know, I am smitten with the work of Peter Gray about how playing (i.e., doing something “just” for fun) is the key to learning. I also loved my visit to the Sudbury Valley School in Framingham, MA, where there are no grades (3rd, 4th, 5th, etc.) and no grades (A,B, C,D, F). It seems like it’s a place where all the kids would slack off, but instead they buzz with purpose. They…