Readers, This is an excerpt from the book, “From Cupcakes to Chemicals: How the Culture of Alarmism Makes us Afraid of Everything and How to Fight Back,” by Julie Gunlock (her real name — not a political statement!). I love this book for its smart, funny look at the excessive fears foisted upon parents, forcing us to hover, because it really does feel as if everything — from cupcakes to chemicals — is out to harm our kids: From Cupcakes to Chemicals, by Julie Gunlock. Excerpt from Chapter 2, “Be Afraid of Everything” A few years ago, I was watching…
Author: lskenazy
What a good idea! If any of you try this (or decide to give up worrying for a specific amount of time, just as an experiment), please let me know how it goes! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: The other day I let my 5 and 2 year-old kids walk down the block. It was a big deal. It was a rainy day, they wanted to go puddle splashing, but they had never walked that far alone. It involved crossing one street. We live in an area that doesn’t get much traffic. But I told my daughter (the five year-old)…
UPDATE: Good news! Following talks with the Pennsylvania Council for the Blind, the school district will allow an “orientation and mobility instructor” to appraise Deven’s situation, and possibly allow him to get off the bus on his own (with some caveats). The update is here. Readers — This story about a blind kid who doesn’t want to be babied by his (lawsuit-fearing) school is all about making a Free-Range Kid into an invalid: Born blind, Deven Phillips has been in Nazareth Area schools his entire life. His mother, Paula Smith, has made every effort to raise her 13-year-old son…
UPDATE! I love this comment so much, I have to highlight it here: “When I was a little girl, an unarmed adult wandering the halls was likely to be questioned, not presumed to be a psychotic mass murderer.” * Readers — This surprising story ran in yesterday’s New York Times about the news media’s new favorite story, finding “breeches” in school security. As reporter John Eligon begins: The three news reports followed the same format: Television reporters walked into schools with hidden cameras, under the premise of testing the security measures. Each time, the anchors provided a sobering assessment of…
Readers — Found this on my “Pro or Con?” page just now: Dear Free-Range Kids: Your website (granted I haven’t read your book yet) speaks of everything from a parent’s point-of-view but have you considered what Free-Range Parenting looks and feels like according to a child? I’m 26 years old and was raised with the Free-Range parent philosophy. Now that I’m old enough to begin reflecting with introspection and observation, I’ve come to the realization that Free-Range parenting was founded to counteract helicopter parenting but neglected to recognize its own extremism. I do have great parents who taught me…
Students abandoned by buses, forced to walk back from field trip WKRN, Nashville News, Nashville Weather and Sports Short story short: Nashville, TN, high school students went on a field trip. Afterward, the buses dropped them off at McDonald’s and then had to peel off to go on their normal routes. Hence, the kids had to WALK BACK to the school (with their teachers). Can you imagine??? This is such a classic clip of local reporting. Not only was seeing kids outside as odd as seeing a gaggle of gazelles on Main Street, but the investigative reporter took it upon…
Oh no no no no no no! Don’t tell me a male offered a teenage female a RIDE? That is SO SCARY! Thank goodness the police are ON THIS! How incredibly…suspicious! A reader sends us this report: INCIDENT: Suspicious Activity DATE / TIME: 03/12/2014 @ 1835 Hours LOCATION: Davol Road, Cloverfields, Stevensville NARRATIVE: A teenage female reported she was walking on Davol Road when a small silver vehicle pulled up near her. The driver described as an older white male almost bald and with a moustache asked her “Sweetie do you want a ride.” The female said no and ran…
Readers — This is just a fascinating artifact from the world of Worst-First thinking, where folks believe today’s children are completely besieged by criminal masterminds (or at least the last of the phonebook users) who are driven in equal measures by rank evil and a love of intensive research. It ran as a letter to the Press Enterprise paper in Bloomsburg, PA (boldface mine): To the Editor: I am writing this letter as a concerned former resident of the Bloomsburg area, and am a reader of the Press Enterprise. I no longer live in the area but still return to…
Readers — While we’re thinking back on news stories that changed childhood (see the post below this one, on Kitty Genovese), take a look at this video just released by the New York Times chronicling the McMartin pre-school Santanic panic. If this intrigues or outrages you (it will), I’d also recommend the incredibly gripping James Woods’ movie about the case, “Indictment,” as well as Debbie Nathan’s book, Satan’s Silence: Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt. Debbie is in the Times’ video, too. – L \
From my piece on Time.com today. (Time writes the headlines, not me): How Kitty Genovese Destroyed Childhood We once may have been too slow to call the cops. Now we’ll dial 911 if we see a couple kids walking alone to get pizza. by Lenore Skenazy Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death 50 years ago today. She was 28. A tragedy. The press reported 38 onlookers heard her screams and decided not to intervene. That account has since come under fire, but it nonetheless created a perception of ourselves (and certainly New Yorkers) as unconscionably reluctant to get involved. We’ve…