Hi Readers — Kwasi Enin, a Long Island, NY, high school senior who got into all the Ivies credits his “helicopter parents” for pushing him to excel. So does this mean that helicopter = success and, possibly, Free-Range = failure? Of course I don’t think so. Here’s why. 1 – First is the fact that success can be defined many, many ways, of which “Ivy League acceptance” is just one. But you knew that. 2 – We have no idea where the Free-Range kids are going to college. And even if they all got into Ivies, see #1. 3 -…
Author: lskenazy
Hey Readers — This piece on the Huffington Post is by a mom, Rebecca Cuneo Keenan, who is rarin’ to let her 8-year-old son Free-Range…but can’t: I’ve been reading about helicopter versus free range parenting for years now. I’ve been hearing about how our kids are being raised on back-lit screens and shuttled from one scheduled activity to another. They don’t get the time or space to explore their neighbourhoods by themselves and learn independence in the process. They aren’t active enough and, quite frankly, all this tab keeping is exhausting for everyone. If there was ever a question about…
Readers — Here’s an alarming idea with no basis in fact, as far as I can fathom. The idea: Have a picture of little Bobby in his football gear and a “My Son is an Honor Student at Kelley Middle School” bumper sticker? Congratulations, you just told the world and anyone who may want to harm your child, where they can find him. Because otherwise, no predator could ever find a school football player at…a school? Possibly playing football? This smug reporter is suggesting that: 1) Someone is out there who wants to harm your child specifically, for some reason,…
Readers — I love this post by a gal named Karen Perry who came up with this great modern-day challenge after thinking back and realizing: I don’t have ANY memories of my mom ever stepping foot in the park let alone laying down a blanket with a variety of snacks for me to nibble on. She most def was not calling me over from the playground to sit down to eat some cucumber. And she would NEVER ask me to rinse my hands with sanitizing lotion first. So the challenge? Let them rip around for a couple hours and work…
Folks — As odd as this WABC story is — and it’s a doozy — the truly oddest part is that it took place, literally, in “Toad Suck” Arkansas. An Arkansas woman was charged with endangering the welfare of her child for breastfeeding after drinking alcohol in a restaurant. The charge was dropped last week, but the issue of breastfeeding and drinking is still a very real one. Less than an hour outside Little Rock lies the tiny town of Toad Suck, Arkansas, population roughly 300. It’s also home for Tasha Adams, a stay at home mother of three. With…
Yes, it seems to be true, though the facts are a little confusing (as this TV story suggests): A man named Richard Wright was giving out money to strangers and telling them to “Thank God!” if they actually needed the cash, or pass it along if they didn’t. For this he seems to have been scooped up by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and taken against his will to a psych ward for evaluation: Even though Wright is being held in the psych ward of Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital, Pierre Bourdages, spokesman for the Halifax Regional Police, confirmed that Wright has…
Readers — This Yelp review of an indoor playground was sent to us by the guy who wrote it, who felt a little guilty, because his kids had been guests at a party there. So he requested I not include his name or the playspace’s. — L. YELP REVIEW:Are you a helicopter parent who has OCD? If so, you will LOVE this place. I was there with my two kids aged 3 and 1.5 for a private party. The staff reprimanded my children and me multiple times. It got to the point where my wife and I just looked at…
Readers — This just in: Dear Free-Range Kids: Just wanted to bring your attention to this bill proposed in the Rhode Island legislature. Here’s what I posted on my FB wall: Attention all parents: Here’s a bill proposed by reps Williams, Edwards, O’Brien, Messier, and Slater. They don’t think your children are safe enough and have introduced H-7578 which would, “require that for school bus transportation provided to children enrolled in grades kindergarten through six (6), a parent, guardian or authorized person be present at the child’s designated bus stops.” AND if that’s not enough the bill requires the parent…
Folks — Below is a 1-minute taste of the 13-part reality show I host, “World’s Worst Mom.” It’s like The Supernanny, except instead of dealing with out-of-control KIDS I deal with PARENTS and their out-of-control worries — like the mom who would only let her son stand on his skateboard on the lawn and NOT MOVE. Or the mom who’d take the family’s freshly cooked dinner and nuke it for 5 minutes to kill the germs. Or the mom who insisted her 13-year-old son still come with her into the ladies room. I spent five days with each of these…
Readers — Here to help you start your day with a little scream (beats coffee!) comes this story from KMOV in St. Louis, MO. Apparently, last week, the mom of a special needs son got a “frantic” call from his teacher. She rushed to the school, got buzzed in and ran to his classroom, committing a cardinal sin: She didn’t sign in. Informed of her transgression by a school administrator, the mom asked to have the sign-in book brought to her but was informed: Too late, the police were already on their way. And so they were. She was taken…