Ah, readers, you know this is my bugaboo: the idea that the authorities (cops, CPS) know better than PARENTS whether or not a child is safe waiting for a short while in the car. I always want to ask the busybodies who summon the police, “Do you really think it’s safer to drag a toddler across a crowded parking lot, where they could get run over, or into a STORE where there could be a ROBBERY in progress and the child could get SHOT?” I mean, if we’re going to do some wild “worst-first” thinking about kids in the car,…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers — Seth Godin, the tech/life/marketing/art guru, was interviewed by Krista Tippett on NPR’s “On Being” show yesterday, and he began by talking about his childhood as a self-described “Free-Range Kid.” (Though I’m not sure he mentally capitalized it.) Anyway, apparently somehow, when he was 14, his dad put him on a boat in downtown Cleveland (?!) at 1 a.m. with a stranger, and he — Seth — ended up finding his way home. It didn’t sound like his dad was trying to abandon him, just that something went awry and it was a formative experience for Seth, who…
Hi Readers — Here’s a question I’m curious about. It’s the winter corollary to my summer query about whether any kids still mow the lawn. Weigh in! – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I do not even have children, but I was one once, so I believe that qualifies me as somewhat of an expert. I am constantly confounded these days by what I perceive as the infantilization of children. As a kid growing up in Yonkers, N.Y., once a snow day was declared (minimum of 8-12 inches of snow for that!), we’d all meet outside with scrapers and shovels in…
Hi Readers — Though this mom’s “negligence” story is told in a lovely English lilt, it may nonetheless spike your blood pressure: Since when are the police allowed to write up a mom who trusts her children to be safe and self-sufficient for a short amount of time? Equally enraging is the idea that this “record” could follow her FOR LIFE, preventing her from even volunteering at the library! This story takes place in England, but it resonates any place in the world where the authorities are allowed to hound a parent for not helicoptering. And hooray for Liberty, the…
That’s what it says on the email ad I got this week from One Step Ahead. I love the fact that if you just buy your kid some toys from them, your child will be not just a leader, but a “great” one! And I guess if you give your kids an empty paper towel roll and a ball, they are destined for serfdom. I mean, how can any child possibly come to dominate the world without his/her parents buying this $28 set of what looks like (but certainly couldn’t be!) plastic measuring cups like you’d find at any dollar…
Hi Readers: It is time to take Free-Range into the schools. How? See below. Why? Teachers have a huge influence not just on their students, but also on the students’ parents. Endorsing Free-Range ideas gives parents “permission” to try them at home. When they do, everyone wins! The teachers get kids who are more excited about the world. Parents get kids who are more confident and street smart. The students themselves get to walk taller — they’re finally realizing how much they can do! The benefits can be truly life-changing (I’ll document more examples in later posts), but everyone needs…
Hi Readers — Here’s another case about kids, safety and social media that we can parse this way or that, but really, I am asking for not nitpicking. Just sanity. A 33-year-old middle school math teacher in Akron, OH, apparently gave one of her 13-year-old students some duct tape to repair a folder. The kid, joking around, put a piece of the tape over her mouth, laughed, and some other kids followed suit. The teacher, Melissa Cairns, snapped a picture and put it on Facebook with the caption: “Finally found a way to get them to be quiet!!!” Big. Deal.…
Hi readers — I thought this was a fantastic post by a dad mistaken for a pedophile. My blood was boiling on his behalf. BUT…wait’ll you get to the guy’s conclusion. It does not sit well with me. Wonder if it makes you squirm, too. – L. P.S. This story got sent to me last week, though now I see it’s from about a year ago. Anyway, still curious as to your reaction.
Readers — You know what goes together better than peanut butter and jelly? (Or peanut butter and chocolate, for that matter?) Fear and money. Which explains why I think these newbulletproof whiteboards may sweep the nation. If I were a venture capitalist, I’d be looking around for any other common school item I could retool as a weapon or defense mechanism. Bullet proof glass for windows (I know that’s already happening). Silent alarms for the teacher’s desk (ditto). Maybe a stapler that shoots darts, or chalk that’s actually a container of pepper spray, or smoke bombs disguised as an shiny…
Readers — This morning we launch a sweeping movement to embolden parents across the country to say, “Enough!” when it comes to adding excessive and expensive layers of security (often just security theater) at their children’s schools. Across the country, schools are locking doors that weren’t locked before, even though, at Sandy Hook, the door WAS locked. They are hiring guards, even though, at Sandy Hook, the gunman blasted anyone who got in his way. They are implementing voodoo-esque defenses, like making parents call 24 hours in advance of a visit to the school, or forcing parents to forfeit their…