Readers — This Atlantic.com essay by Christine Gross-Loh, author of Parenting Without Borders, does a great job of shooting the alarmists down. (Couldn’t resist!) The Free-Range Kids angle? One of the chapters in my book is called, “Relax! Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact on Your Child’s Development.” That includes curating their toys. – L. Keeping Kids from Toy Guns: How One Mother Changed her Mind by Christine Gross-Loh When my husband was growing up, the only boy in a family of all girls, his mother didn’t allow him to have any toy guns. He…
Author: lskenazy
Readers — I sit here IN my Payless sneakers, my Payless flats right beside me. I’m a Payless FAN, but not of this ad: Excuse me — ALL SUMMER this woman’s kids have been INSIDE? All the joys of playing ball, bobbing in an inner tube and throwing a Frisbee take place in her LIVING ROOM? The kids don’t leave till they GO TO SCHOOL?!! This is culture CHANGING in front of our eyes, folks! Yes, I know the ad is tongue in cheek. But the message we are getting along with our bargain shoes is that even on the…
Hi Folks! How I love your nose for non-news! Here’s one of the many notes I got today about the “frightening” story that’s gone viral: Dear Free-Range Kids: Here is the link to something I just saw on Facebook. http://kyeos.wordpress.com/2013/05/10/warning-if-you-take-photos-with-your-cell-phone/ Using technology to track where “Little Madison” goes to school and the corner of the playground where she once had her picture taken seems like a lot of (busy) work for a predator. What kills me even more, and I can’t necessarily put this into words, is how the chain of communication of this stuff works. The news does a…
Hey Readers — This fall I’m going to be offering a continuing ed class for parents through New York City’s Hunter College. But first…it needs a name! I’m wondering if you could vote on which name you like best. Here goes! (Sorry there are so many.) 1 – RAISING A LEADER…BY BACKING OFF 2 – HOW TO STOP WORRYING SO MUCH ABOUT YOUR KIDS* *FOR THEIR SAKE AND YOURS! 3 – HOW TO STOP OVERWORRYING ABOUT YOUR KIDS 4 – KEEPING YOUR KIDS SAFE…WITHOUT HOVERING 5 – HOW TO BE A PERFECT PARENT AND RAISE A…
Folks — Something to ponder on a Sunday: Dear Free-Range Kids: As a Free-Range parent living in England, I look to classic children’s literature for inspiration and confidence about giving my sons the freedom to be children, exploring and having adventures on their own. I thought I would pass along a suggestion to other Free-Range parents and hope to get new ideas in return. The Swallows and Amazons books, by Arthur Ransome, were favorites of mine as a child. Written in the early 1930s, the language is dated in places, but the children seem surprisingly modern and I bet today’s…
Folks — I just got a letter from a reader wondering what Free-Range thing she can do that won’t get her shunned by the other parents or cited by some uptight cop. My answer: Do something YOU loved doing as a child that you wish you could let your child do, too. Let your child make a s’more or walk around the neighborhood or knock on a friend’s door or play in the park with a sibling but without you — or go to the movies. You’re the parent, so you know that you wouldn’t send your 2 year old…
Tales from a Fear-Racked Country: Dear Free-Range Kids: My 4 year old wants to play lemonade stand and my apartment complex doesn’t allow lemonade stands. I approached friends if I could use their driveways, but they are afraid of the liability. A friend suggested in front of the post office, but they said no. Then I thought of the local farmers market and I was told that I would need a health department inspection. What is the world coming to where a 4 year old can’t have a lemonade stand? live in Pompton Lakes, NJ which is a middle class…
Hi Readers — Here’s a note from Education.com’s marketing director, Kat Eden, regarding the “Reasons to Say No to Sleepovers” post we have been writing about the last two days (that is now gone from the site). — L Dear Free-Range Kids: Thanks so much to you and to your community for sharing your thoughts about this article. We post hundreds of pieces of content each month with the goal of giving parents the information they need to make the best decisions for their families and the ideas and inspiration they want to make learning with their kids more…
Readers — Walking to school is a lovely, age-old, generally safe activity that has been almost abandoned over the last generation. Today, only about one child in 1o still walks to school, in part because some new schools have been built on the outskirts of town, in part because some neighborhoods are so car-centric there is no decent on-foot route to school, but also in great part because parents have been warned every which way that their kids are never safe doing anything outside on their own. (See my last million posts.) Enter Michelle Obama, who dearly wishes kids would…
Readers — The “No Sleepover” article I just posted about inspired these lovely comments from you. Enjoy. — L Good reasons to say Yes to Sleepovers (by “Albert”) 1. Your kids will get a chance to practice the manners you teach – it’s no good if they don’t, right? 2. Your kids will get to do and try different things – food, games, travel, etc. they may not otherwise, which is all part of making it a treat, yes? If it’s good for you, why isn’t it good for them?? 3. Your kids will make new friends, and so will…