Hi Readers – Out of the blue, Disney has declared that no individual under age 14 can enter its parks solo anymore. According to NBC News: The child’s parent or guardian would then be contacted if the visitor is underage, and that adult would need to physically come accompany the child into the park. Disney chose the age of 14 after the company surveyed its guests and reached out to organizations that deal with child welfare, [spokeswoman Suzi] Brown said. She said both the organizations and visitors agreed on the new age limit. “That was the age they felt was…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers! This letter is a gauntlet thrown down by the student body president in Chappaqua, N.Y., a suburb so lovely it’s where the Clintons moved after the White House. (And apparently they have loved it!) I wish the letter had a few more details and of course, I do not know the administration’s side. But it sounds like the local high school, Greeley, is beset by the same fears gripping so many schools these days: The fears of litigation, political incorrectness, possible student injury and just a fear of doing anything, when doing nothing is so much safer. The…
Hi Readers — Over at CommonGood.org, I’ve got an essay about the family that found a paring knife at the bottom of the birthday cake they bought for their 2-year-old at Walmart. The teary-eyed father lamented, “We’re not going to get that second birthday back ever.” Ohmigod–he’s right! How is anyone expected to recover from a blow like that? The family will NEVER get back a non-paring-knife-marred-cake-cutting-moment when their kid is two again! Naturally, that kind of thing is so unfair, so deeply disruptive to the natural order of things, that the dad said he may sue. If you’re wondering…
Folks, when I posted the letter from the dad whose 6-year-old was picked up by the police — and DETAINED — for walking solo in her neighborhood, one of you said that stories like this make you worried to let your kids go outside. Which is exactly the opposite reaction I was hoping for. I wrote back to say that I”m here because I want us all to band together and fight for our children’s RIGHT to go outside without us. And it is our right to LET THEM GO! To let them play and be part of the world!…
Readers — I was just on a radio show talking about how we reflexively inflate the dangers facing children, and while I was on, this email came to Free-Range Kids. It illustrates what I spend most of my waking hours dealing with: The belief that our kids are in constant danger, so only constant supervision can “save” them. Can you please help this woman convince her husband that her child-rearing decisions are safe and sane? And, while we’re at it, can you convince everyone else, too? Because I’m shaking from the radio thing. (Details: A caller insisted that a 6-year-old…
Yep, folks, it’s another Zero Tolerance situation. Sounds like a second grade boy in Ohio brought two toy guns to school, one of which ostensibly looked real. If it did, I can certainly understand administrators being concerned. You don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. I sure don’t. But why suspend the kid? Just tell him not to do it again. Sheesh! He’s in second grade! And why have the police involved? And why refer to the toys as “weapons,” as the news article does? Overkill, thy name is America! Anyway, I did appreciate the one comment this story engendered.…
Readers — There’s hope! In a way, all the ridiculous Zero Tolerance incidents of the past few weeks — the kids suspended for the Hello Kitty bubble gun, and the Lego gun, and the imaginary grenade throw in a game of imaginary save-the-world, and last but not least the terrifying pastry gun — have given impetus to a bill proposed by Maryland State Senator J.B. Jennings (R). His “Reasonable School Discipline Act of 2013” would de-criminalize kids who are playing and happen to make or mention a play gun. The proposed law begins: FOR the purpose of prohibiting a principal…
Hi Folks! Here’s a question that resonated for me — and an answer that did, too. Both appeared in recent comments. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Having killed time on my pm commute reading the comments on the Seattle blog about local schools going on lockdown due to a thief in the neighborhood (don’t worry, I wasn’t driving!), I am struck with the thought that for many people today, love=protection at all costs. [LENORE’S NOTE: Many parents were thrilled with the school closings, despite the tiny danger posed.] It is not a new idea on this site that our culture…
Readers – I just had a great time in Vancouver, where I gave a speech inaugurating the International Children’s Festival’s new “PEP Talk Series.” While there I met a lot of Free-Rangers who were very inspiring, including journalist/”urban experimentalist” Charles Montgomery, whose Happy City book will be coming out this fall. Among other things, it examines something we talk about here: How people are happier when they connect with their neighbors and neighborhoods. That’s true for adults and for kids. Think of your own childhood — wasn’t at least part of it spent in a swarm? One impediment to spontaneous,…
As one meme forum added: “Counselors will be available for all traumatized students.” Phew!