From the Purell e-mail blast I just got: Your little ones are headed back to school and so are millions of germs! I’m leaving aside all the nasty things I want to say about how we are MADE of germs and must get ACCUSTOMED to germs and when did start treating everyday life like lung surgery? But instead I will leave you with my son’s remark: Oh, the germs took the summer off? – L.
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers! Just had to crow. The ietbdhshib story about Hunter, the deaf pre-schooler who was told to change his name because it violated the school’s anti-gun policy, was sent to us by a gal in Hunter’s neck of the woods — Nebraska — on Monday night, which is when I posted and tweeted it. By Tuesday afternoon, the story had gone ’round the world. Google it — you can’t miss it. On Yahoo’s home page alone it got 17,000+ comments. And despite the fact neither this site nor the one where I’m guest-posting this month, The Agitator, are getting…
Hi Folks! This is perhaps the most absurd story ever reported here — and that’s saying a lot! A reader named Rachel writes: A Deaf child named Hunter is not allowed to use his name sign because the sign for “Hunter” (a dictionary word) uses the thumb and first two fingers in a gun shape and suggests a shooting motion. Here’s the story. These school officials have lost their ability to reason if they believe stripping a child of his name is necessary for safety under a weapons policy. Educators who are unable to use logic and critical thinking have…
Hi Readers! If you send your kids to the Drummoyne publics grammar school in Sydney, kindly instruct them to stay upright their whole day, as cartwheels, head- and handstands are no longer allowed unless “under the supervision of a trained gymnastics teacher and with correct equipment,”‘ according to the Local West Courrier. The ruling comes from the principal who is worried abut (all together now) INJURIES and LIABILITY, the twin Dementors driving schools crazy with fear and dread. The fact that the school just re-surfaced its playground with soft stuff to make falls even safer plays no role. Or…
Hi Folks — Let me state upfront that I agree with this, uh, guy: Teach your kids never to go off with stranger. But is there anyone stranger than this blue-haired, baby-tawking clown who keeps showing up out of nowhere? The lesson he seems intent on teaching kids: Never go anywhere without a possibly imaginary, predator-obsessed prig in a blue wig. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GyyssVgafUg&feature=player_embedded#!
Hi Folks — Just reading an early copy of an op-ed to be published in tomorrow’s Washington Post by the president of Northwestern University,Morty Schapiro, and the president of Lewis & Clark College,Barry Glassner, who is author of the book (turned phrase) The Culture of Fear. Instead of merely telling parents to quit helicoptering when they drop their kids off at college — a tactic that they admit does not work — the dynamic duo do something I call “yuppie jujitsu.” They flip the parents’ own need for hovering into a way for them to let go. In this case,…
Hi Readers — Lovely article by Tara Parker-Pope in today’s New York Times about how we have been led astray by the flashcard mentality that says the more we DRILL our littlest students the SMARTER they become. On the surface of it, the drilling idea makes sense: Why not efficiently shove info into our kids? Here’s the info, kids: Shove it! But all the research (not to mention a million years of human development BEFORE flashcards) is suggesting that the way kids really learn is through PLAY. Even a game like Simon Says — or a variation that’s “Do the…
Hi Folks — To be filed under, “What we’ve lost.” Or maybe, “What Free-Range Kids is working to bring back.” — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I had an interesting experience in the Target parking lot today. While I was unloading my cart, an older man passed and complimented me on my four kids. I thanked him, and we struck up a conversation. When my three-year-old shyly turned away from the man, he said, “That’s right, I forgot you’re not supposed to talk to strangers these days.” And he turned to leave. I said, “No sir, I teach my children…
Dear Readers — This letter got me wondering, too. Eagerly awaiting your answers. – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I found your blog recently and have been going through all of your past posts (driving my hubby crazy with “listen to this…..!”). I have been a Free-Range mom for years now (10 years, 5 kids), and I am glad to now realize that I am not as alone as I had previously thought. My son is 10 going on 30 and organizes his own lemonade stand, bikes to the library by himself, runs into the grocery store for me so I…
Hi Readers! Here’s a little list of tips from Vicki Hoefle, author of the brand-new book: Duct Tape Parenting: A Less is More Approach to Raising Respectful, Responsible and Resilient Kids. – L 5 Simple Ways to Let Go and Raise a Resilient Child, by Vicki Hoefle Hey there Free-Rangers! I want to give a quick kudos to you for encouraging your children to take reasonable risks. It takes courage to foster independence in a world that prefers to hover and hyper-protect. By stepping out of the way and trusting them, you are enabling resiliency, confidence, courage and independence in…