Hi Readers! A fellow Free-Ranger seeks your counsel! – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I have a question that maybe you can pose to your readers. What age can kids begin to walk to and from school alone, and whose decision should it be? Here’s the background. We live in a very safe, idyllic suburb. Our town (Temecula) was recently named the “2nd safest city in America” by a Business Insider survey that rated FBI crime stats. Most of the kids who go to our local elementary schools live right in the neighborhood where the schools are located, and…
Author: lskenazy
Folks — The idea that a 10-year-old is not allowed to read at the library without a guardian is nauseating to me, and not just because I spent my formative years at the Wilmette Public Library (reading the Harvard Lampoon). I can’t imagine my mom having to spend her whole weekend at the library just because she happened to have a reader for a child. Alternatively, I can’t imagine NOT spending my afternoons at the library because my mom had other things to do besides bodyguarding me in the reference room. And yet, that “No One Alone Under Age 10″…
Hi Folks! After years of trying to figure out how to get kids back outside, playing together — an effort that led to “Take Our Children to the Park …And Leave Them There Day,” not to mention many a blog post extolling the benefits of free-play — I’ve finally decided that maybe the answer is the one that parents look for instinctively: A bona fide class. Hence, “I Won’t Supervise Your Kids,” a new, 8-week, $350 after-school “class” starting this Wednesday, Sept. 12, in New York City’s Central Park. (Details here.) I’m charging for the class to make me a…
Hi Folks — This story comes to us from Australia, where the federal government is telling child protective workers to consider — and classify — kids who “often” hurt themselves as at a “high risk of neglect.” “Accident-prone children might be the victims of poor parental supervision,” is how AdelaideNow sums the reasoning up. Thus, anyone treating (or seeing?) bruised or clumsy kids is told to assess the role that parental supervision — or lack thereof — played, even in minor accidents. The theory behind this isn’t bad. It’s true that severely neglected children, especially young ones, may be…
Hi Folks! Well, it only took me about two years longer than I’d hoped (okay…three), but here at last is the new Free-Range Kids site. Allow me to point out some wonderful features (besides the ads, which are a first for me! Don’t hate on them — making a living is good!) Our tour begins at the top of the page where you’ll find, among other things, an updated tab for “My TV Show,” including a 2-minute clip. (Still seeking a gutsy U.S. station to take the series!) There’s also a spanking new “Speaking Engagements” page. And the “Press” tab…
Hi Folks! Here’s a school memo one of you sent in from the Brave New World that thinks somehow every time any adult encounters a child — even in a classroom filled with other adults and a gaggle of kids — the kids are in grave danger: Wiggle aidbftnika those digits If you attended volunteer training last spring in order to be able to help out at school (in the classroom, on field trips, at parties, etc.), there’s one more step you need to take. The school board recently added a fingerprinting requirement for all volunteers to accompany the existing…
Hi Folks! I have a piece in today’s Wall Street Journal:”When Separation Anxiety Goes Overboard.” It’s about the way the advice-o-sphere manages to turn the first day of school into a super-dramatic, super-traumatic event that requires the kind of preparation once associated with storming the beaches: “Practice how you will say goodbye,” urges one of the zillion or so websites featuring first-day-of-school tips. “Goodbye!” Hmm. That just doesn’t seem very difficult to me. Maybe I’m heartless. In fact, I know I’m heartless, because I never bought a “Nesting Heart.” That’s a toy made by a company called Kimochis that is…
Hey Readers — You want inspiration? You got it: A 9 year old Detroit boy was dismayed by the fact his local park was totally overgrown — the city could afford to mow it just twice a year. So did he stay inside playing videogames? He set up a lemonade stand and made $3000 over the course of five days. Donated it to Parks & Rec. This video is from when he was just getting started. You’ll love it! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itp1rb2Loxc&feature=player_embedded]
Hi Folks! This is a good one to take to heart… and to the playground. — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve known for a while that Free-Range is a great way to raise confident, independent, capable kids, but I never knew how much this approach would help me as a parent until last night. I was at a local park with my boys. They are ages 2 and 4. My older son has just recently mastered monkey bars and after his probably 10th or 12th time cruising along them, his hands slipped and he fell down pretty hard. …
Hi Folks! I read this over at RixaRixa and asked if the blogger was game to let me reprint the whole thing. Yes! So here it is, in all its infuriating bureaucrat-brained fullness! We’ve been walking Zari to and from kindergarten. It seemed the most logical of our three options (walk, ride the bus, or drive) since we only live 1 km away. If Zari rode the bus, she’d have to leave the house almost an hour earlier, and she’d get home 1 to 1 1/2 hours later. That adds up to over 2 hours on the bus per day.…