Readers — This is a two-part post. First comes a letter from Lisa, a mom in Arizona who had her kids (2 and 4) wait in the car while she ran an errand and is now facing charges of neglect. The temperature that morning was mild, not sweltering. The second part is a letter to Lisa from The National Association of Parents’ founder, David DeLugas. He has pledged to use new membership dues ($19 for a year) and donations toward hiring Lisa a lawyer. I’m a member! Read on: Dear Free-Range Kids: It was approx 11 a.m. on Friday, Oct.…
Author: lskenazy
Readers — I appreciate this note and clip, from Scott FitzGerald, who describes himself as “just a ‘regular’ dad in suburbia, trying to raise two great kids to be smart, independent accountable, and happy.” (He modestly doesn’t mention having written The Great Gatsby!) – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I thought you might find this editorial refreshing. Arapahoe High is only about a mile from my house and although our young children would attend a different school (we’re in a different county) these types of events do cause you to take pause since them seem so random and violent. I…
Readers — Wrap your head in a towel before you read this, so when you bang your head against the wall it won’t hurt as much: State Journal birth notices to end because of hospitals’ new policy by David Wahlberg The [Wisconsin] State Journal will stop publishing birth announcements later this week because Madison’s two birthing hospitals will no longer provide the information to the newspaper. The end of the traditional keepsake for parents and notice to the community stems from a growing concern about infant abductions, hospital officials say. Birth listings “set people up as targets for somebody who…
Readers — What a perfect way to start 2014, with a great story of two boys walking to the store and the mom who fought for that right. Yes, that RIGHT. It is OUR RIGHT to believe in our kids. And it is our kids’ right to grow up FREE from the limits imposed by delusions of danger.This story was sent in by Ben Rossiter, head of Victoria Walks, an Australian non-profit dedicated to getting people back to doing just what these boys did: Walking around their neighborhoods. How radical. – L. Women call police after spotting young boys walking…
Readers — I was going to go out on a high — the happy post below this one, about kids enjoying a New Year’s party together while their parents did the same at another house — when one of you sent in this: “Mom Left Young Kids Alone to Go Clubbing: Police” Young? Her oldest kid was 13 — babysitter age. WHY IS THIS A CRIME??? If this is all there really is to the story, we are treating the mom like a criminal and the teen like a baby, all because we think no one under 18 is ever…
Readers — This may sound insane to some, but to me it sounds beyond fun. Happy New Year! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: In honor of the upcoming holiday, I wanted to share with you my memory of my favorite New Year’s eve growing up. This was in the late 70’s, growing up in a typical suburban neighborhood. All the parents on our street gathered for a New Year’s eve party at one of the family’s homes, and instead of hiring babysitters, they decided to let all of us kids have our own party. About 20 kids, ages 7 to…
************UPDATE:Readers, one of you has just written to say that after leaving her two kids in the car for a short time, she was cited by the cops and now must appear in court on Jan. 15 (despite a visit by CPS that found nothing amiss at home). She would love to talk to someone who has been through this: a lawyer or a parent. Please write here or, if you prefer, email me at heylenore3@gmail.com with a way for her to reach you. Thank you! – L. ******************* Readers — The other day I ran a post about a…
Readers — Here’s a story from the Star Tribune to warm you heart! Free-Range-wise, one of the things we like to remind folks is that THIS generation of kids is not suddenly the most delicate in history! They come fully equipped to handle the same challenges kids did for generations. (Though personally I am a fan of central heating.) – L North Shore teen more than halfway to sleeping outside for a whole year by: SAM COOK , Associated Press HERMANTOWN, Minn. — It was bedtime for Rudy Hummel. He pulled on three pairs of pants and four shirts. He…
Readers — A study discussed in yesterday’s SFGate (the San Francisco Chronicle’s website) suggests that kids growing up with dogs may be a little more protected against allergies and asthma, thanks to early exposure to the bacteria the dogs bring in. The bacteria seem to sort of “immunize” the kids. What’s Free-Range about that? Dirt. And imperfection. And an old-fashioned childhood. Since time began, kids and dirt have gone together like mud and pie. They tracked dirt in. They tracked it out. It is only our modern day, Purell-soaked society that is keeping kids cleaner than clean — perhaps cleaner…
Dear Readers — A very merry to you and yours, and hopes that someday soon a story like the one below will just seem NORMAL again. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: My sister from New York just sent me some photos of us growing up in the South Bronx in the late ’40s and early ’50s. One is of my sister Helen, me and Santa Claus. The story behind that photo describes perfectly the differences between child rearing 60 years ago and the present bubble wrap age. Helen and I lived in a tenement building on 141st St. in the…