Hi Folks! Just read about this warning regarding Bumbo Seats — little seats that look even safer than normal seats because there’s a big, hmmm, I guess “bumbo” in front of the crotch, wedging the child in. (See below.) About 4 million — that’s 4,000,000 — have been sold. And now they are being recalled for retooling — basically adding a safety belt — after reports of 2 baby skull fractures. (Two, that is, while the seat was on the ground. Another 19 occurred when the seat was on a raised surface and presumably the child fell out or off.)…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Folks — Here’s a little essay reminding us that the push to sell ever more things dovetails with the push for us to fear ever more new things. It comes to us from Kassandra Brown, who says she “supports women in transition and conscious parenting.” — L Danger Sells The biggest backlash to Free-Range Kids is safety. Lenore talks about the perception of danger induced by news and media. The media offers us an onslaught of information about how unsafe the world is, how unsafe our children are, and how much they need protection. I won’t replicate her…
Hi Readers! The Buckyballs ban is getting a lot of press. Here’s a piece in today’s NY Times, which references this oped by Michelle Malkin, And here is the official Consumer Product Safety Commission’s complaint. It notes that since 2009, there have been two dozen reports of magnet-induced injuries to children, including “at least one dozen involving Buckyballs. Surgery was required in many of incidents.” (It doesn’t say how many.) In press coverage of the issue, generally someone whose child was hurt gets interviewed. Here’s a reader whose child was affected another way. — L Dear Free-Range Kids: Did you…
Readers — This is so incredible! Remember this post from a few months ago? As we approach our third annual, “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day” (Saturday, May 19), this story is outrageous. Apparently a dad let his two kids, ages 6 and 9, play in a local suburban Pittsburgh park on Saturday morning for not quite two hours while he did some shopping and took a shower. That is, while he went about the tasks of everyday life. Meantime, a woman noticed this unusual thing: Kids playing without an adult around! That this fact was…
Hi Folks! Here’s a spankin’ new study that won’t surprise you: Children who spend more than three-quarters of their time engaging in sedentary behaviour, such as watching TV and sitting at computers, have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than their more active peers, reveals a study published in the American Journal of Human Biology. The study, involving Portuguese children, found that physical activity alone was not enough to overcome the negative effect of sedentary behaviour on basic motor coordination skills such as walking, throwing or catching, which are considered the building blocks of more complex movements. “Childhood is…
Hi Readers! Laura Alves is a mom of 4 who has made a change in her world — and beyond. As can we all! — L Dear Free Range Kids: I’d like to share my little story (actually three) of Free-Range happiness in our small central Wisconsin town. I have four kids, ages 9, 6, 4, 2. I generally allow and encourage (and sometimes require) my older two to ride their bikes. My philosophy is that if it is safe and reasonable for them to propel themselves somewhere, than they should. I have little kids at home who don’t want…
Hi Folks! Just had this wonderful song sent to me: “Neat to be a Newsboy,” from the musical “Working” by Stephen “Wicked” Schwartz based on the book by Studs Terkel. This is not to be confused with the Disney musical “Newsies” — but I have a feeling I’d like that one, too. Anyway, to very quickly beat my point (and possibly you) over the head: Delivering papers was a NORMAL thing for an 11-year-old to do, before we started criminalizing kids doing anything on their own, even walking home, or waiting in the car for a few minutes at that…
Hi Folks — This letter has me down, but not nearly as down as the writer. When the authorities start to believe the world is worse than it is and hence that kids are less safe than they really are, naturally they see independence as dangerous. Free-Range Kids exists to spread the word that our kids are NOT in constant danger, and parents who believe in their kids are NOT endangering them. They are empowering them. Or at the very least, giving them a childhood. Any advice on how to change the zeitgeist FASTER is appreciated! – L Dear…
Hi Readers — Had to share this response to the posts below this one, about Virgin Air making a man move because he was seated next to two unaccompanied minors. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: This just seems outrageous to me. I would like to share a story from my childhood which has left a lasting impression on not only myself, but my mother as well. When I was about 4 my very young single mother was travelling across the country via a Greyhound bus with my 4 year old self and my 1 year old sister. Mum was…
Hi Readers! It takes all kinds…even the kind that thinks men are raping random children on planes, I guess. Here’s a note that came in response to my post below this one, about Virgin Air’s policy of not allowing males to sit next to unaccompanied minors: I agree with the policy. It is too bad that the airline did not arrange the seating ahead of time to avoid an embarrassing moment but as a mother I would not want my child seating next to a strange man on a plane. The fact is 99% of paedophiles are male. I’m sure…