Hey Readers — Remember: If you ever need to get some perspective on how skittish we’ve become, look to another country or, today, another era. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I heard this episode of Engines of our Ingenuity on NPR today. Even though the point of the episode was how much better homemade toys turned out to be, what really grabbed my attention was the list of materials he had at his disposal to create things with. The 1930s often found me walking aisles looking for toys. But they were aisles ofhardware and drug stores. That’s where I spent…
Author: lskenazy
Folks — Here’s a news story of one mom’s fear with the usual missing link: analysis and commentary from someone who can explain whether the fear is justified. The story from WAVY: Gina Brannon wants the Virginia Beach School District to move her daughter’s bus stop so the 10-year-old doesn’t have to walk past a registered sex offender’s home. “Its like dangling a carrot in front of a hungry animal,” she told WAVY.com. Brannon asked the her daughter’s school to change the stop, but her request was denied. And here’s a response from Shana Rowan, Executive Director of USA Families…
Hi Folks — The site has been having technical problems for the last week or so, which is why it now looks different. the big question is: Are any of you still having problems loading the site? (I realize that anyone who can’t load it at ALL will not be here, but the problems do seem intermittent.) Before I undergo a massive overhaul, I’d really like to know if things are already better, thanks to the steps we’ve been taking. Thanks for your feedback. – L.
Folks — A find about a find, sent to us by Kim H: A couple went bike riding and lost a cell phone. It was found by some kids. They posted an instagram video telling the owner that they had found the phone and to call it. When he did they told him where they were – and the adults went over and picked up the phone. Here’s the story. Kids playing together without an adult find something expensive, figure out how to contact the owner, and meet with strangers to return the phone – and all survive. — Kimberly
Hi Folks — This study is totally fascinating. As if Detroit didn’t have enough worries, now, according to the WNYC blog Transportation Nation: Young people aren’t lining up to drive like they used to. Year over year, fewer 16 to 24 year-olds are getting driver’s licenses according to a new study released today by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute. Take 16 year-olds: In 2008, 31 percent of them got driver’s licenses. In 2010 it fell to 28 percent. That’s part of a steady trend the researchers track back to 1983. That’s when…
Folks — If you felt like you were living in a kind of sane country, take a peek at this: Yes, aesnadedeh it’s a terrorist drill on a school bus. I truly could not understand from this report (or Googling) if the students knew the attack was fake or not. They probably did, or just imagine the lawsuits. Nonetheless, it is nothing less than bizarre that while they were being “hijacked,” school administrators and sundry responsible adults sat in folding chairs in a parking lot across town watching a big-screen live feed of the event. And then, as the…
So it has only taken me about three decades to finally see itekskshrb “Stand By Me.” And now, like every convert to everything, ever, I want everyone to watch it. The four 7th grade boys off in search of a dead body (knowing this doesn’t spoil the movie at all) embody the kind of Free-Range childhood many of us think we remember, even if we lived in the ‘burbs and the closest we got to death was watching Goldie swirl down the toilet. But what those boys had, besides an adventure, was time on their own. Time to be silly,…
Hi Folks! Let’s give this lady some great ideas besides the one I’ll start with: I’d want my kids hanging out with a bunch of other kids and some balls, crayons, chalk and boxes! — L Dear Free-Range Kids: We’re opening a “Free-Range” daycare center this winter (fingers crossed that we’re ready) on 2.5 acres a ways east of Vancouver, BC. While I have a lot of great ideas for the kids, I’m stumped on how to meet my “obligations” (as defined by our very modern city) and my own goals for kids (mine and any others here). And…
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…
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…