Yes folks, Saturday May 18 is international Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day, the Free-Range holiday that’s celebrated just the way it sounds: We all take our kids to our local park and, if they’re 7 or 8 or older, leave them there for a bit, starting at 10 a.m. That way, they meet up with other kids from the neighborhood — even ones that go to different schools. After we wave goodbye, the kids will come up with something to do, as kids always have. And by the time they’re done — half an hour,…
Author: lskenazy
Sorry Readers — I’m all riled up today. Too many things are annoying me, and one of them is the story I just heard from a friend. On Friday, in honor of Mother’s Day, her first grade daughter’s class was having a tea. So, in the foyer, waiting to go into the classroom, were a bunch of other moms milling around. When my friend got to the front door of the school, which was locked, she motioned for someone to please open it. None of the moms would. One of them pantomimed for her to press a buzzer, which would…
Hi Folks! Here’s new wisdom from Michigan’s Heather Shumaker, author of It’s OK Not to Share…And Other Renegade Rules for Raising Competent and Compassionate Kids . She’s a speaker, blogger and advocate for free play and no homework for young children. Hey — so am I! L. Safety Second — 3 Risks Young Kids Need by Heather Shumaker Sometimes it seems as if SAFETY has become a parent’s only job. Stop running! Be careful! You’ll get wet! Put that stick down before someone gets hurt! As caregivers, our job is to keep kids safe. But it’s…
Hi Readers! You have been sending in fantastic, “Nothing Bad Happened When My Kid…” stories that show how nice and normal life can be when we quit worrying about extremely unlikely tragedies every time we consider letting our kids out of our sight. The note below one is a reminder that special needs kids need and deserve that same re-thinking: Maybe they aren’t in constant danger, either! – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Nothing bad happened when I let my then 6 year old high functioning autistic son walk around the block by himself (or, as he calls it, The Island).…
Hi Readers — especially, today, moms! While you eat your burnt toast and funky eggs in bed (something, by the way, my kids never did for me), here’s news to brighten your day and life, from a Washington Post article: “Five Myths About Missing Children.” It’s by David Finkelhor, who was an extremely helpful and insightful source for me when I wrote my Free-Range Kids book. He’s director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center, where he looks at facts and trends, not myths and fears, abut kids’ safety. Here’s Myth #1- L. Five Myths about Missing Children by…
Readers — Here’s a phenom unbeknownst to me (a mom of boys): the de-adventuring of American Girl dolls. Once marketed as pint-size players in America’s great sweep of history, now they go to the spa. According to Amy Schiller in The Atlantic: With a greater focus on appearance, increasingly mild character development, and innocuous political topics, a former character-building toy has become more like a stylish accessory. What does that look like? Washington Post blogger Alexandra Petri picks up on Schiller’s story and says she remembers her youth spent with dolls fighting slavery and the Great Depression: Contrast what Saige…
Hi Folks! This is a documentary done by Carla Reid and Franny Plumridge, two university students who were raised in the country 16,000 kilometres apart (Carla in Australia, Franny in Canada), but both encouraged by their parents to actively explore and experience their world. Their rural Free-Range upbringing and shared passion for filmmaking inspired them to investigate the important issue of overprotective parenting in a documentary film. ‘Playtime’ explores raising Free-Range kids in this wonderful, seductive, and fast-paced technological world. The film was produced for Documentary Production, Ryerson University 2012: Carla Reid — Director, Cinematographer & Co-Editor Franny Plumridge —…
Readers — Like the rest of you, I am shaken by the story of the three young women held hostage in Cleveland for years. Like you, I’m guessing, this brings up other stories — of Elizabeth Smart, Jaycee Dugard. I hope you will understand I am not dishonoring their trauma by trying to keep it in perspective. A story like this makes many parents re-think any freedom for their kids. That’s because we immediately feel for the prisoners — which is as it should be — but also because it will be used as a reference point whenever at least…
Hi Folks! This lovely and simple idea comes to us from Heike Larson, who is the Vice President of Parent Outreach at LePort Schools, a group of six private Montessori schools in Orange County, CA. She writes about education in general and Montessori in particular on the LePort Schools blog. – L. . IF SUMMER IS FOR PLAYING, HOW CAN WE MAKE THAT HAPPEN? This summer, instead of just enrolling my 6-year-old in camp, I decided to find a way to get her some real Free-Range experiences. I’ve organized for a group of about ten 5- to 7-year-old girls…
Readers –Here’s a sit-up-and-go-yikes oped by Thomas Friedman of the The New York Times. Friedman sort of specializes in these, but this one talks in particular about how we are facing a “401k future.” That is: Unlike the salad days of long-term jobs and pensions, we’re in a new era of morphing and even disappearing jobs, so we are now responsible for constantly re-inventing/marketing ourselves, even as we must secure our own long-term solvency: If you are self-motivated, wow, this world is tailored for you. The boundaries are all gone. But if you’re not self-motivated, this world will be a…