Hi Readers: An interesting note. Do we celebrate community or automatically distrust it? — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: It has occurred to me that Mr. Potts from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is the ultimate Free-Range parent, openly supporting his children’s truancy, letting them run amok around town, coming up with imaginative adventures, etc. A few weeks ago when I took my boys (7, 5, and 3) to see the Chitty Chitty performed by our community theater, I saw just how “crazy” parents find this lovely story these days. The show was in the gym of a local elementary school.…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers — Here’s a note from reader Althea Smock, a mother of two Free-range Kids, ages 5 and 7, in Arvada, Colorado. I find myself thinking about our inability to understand, deal with or accept risk a LOT and, apparently, so does she! — L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: The risk adversity in the U.S. is out of control. I just read about the CPSC recalling 7 million candle holders because there was a single incident of one (one!!) melting. . This comes on the heels of a discussion we had at our Parks Board last week where the…
Hi Readers! What happens when childhood, lawsuits and an all-around inability to deal with risk jump up and down and bump into each other? Here’s the jist of it: Gordon Tewnion addressed the board recently, requesting the use of five air-filled devices, including a maze and a slide, for a May 26 fun fair at Lester B. Pearson Public School in Ajax. He would also like to use a bouncy castle. “I am pleading with you to allow us to use something new to liven up our event,” said Mr. Tewnion. The board restricts the use of air-filled devices, following…
Hi Readers! Just found out that you can visit the amazing Legoland Discovery Center if you are an adult…so long as you have a child with you. Otherwise, no dice. (And no Legos, either, it seems.) As the Discovery Center states on its Web site: Can parents visit the attractions, too? Of course – The LEGOLAND Discovery Center is a family attraction, so it’s great fun for everybody. However, adults can not visit the LEGOLAND Discovery Center unless they are accompanied by a child/children. Because, of course, any OTHER grownups who wanted to visit couldn’t possibly be interested in the…
Hi Folks! Got this the other day and had to pass it along. I agree with the writer: yoga and such can be good for kids. But there are time-honored alternatives, too. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Oh lordie, you’re never going to believe this. Just saw this posting and had to share. Now, for the low, low price of $320, your FIVE-year-old can attend a series of eight classes to learn relaxation techniques. First, full disclosure. I DO believe that yoga and meditation are powerful and good techniques that people can use to manage stress and lead…
Hi Readers — The other day, a toddler at an Applebee’s was accidentally served alcohol instead of juice. It’s appalling — the mom said she knew something weird was going on when he started saying “Hi!” to the walls — but the bottom line is: The child was unharmed and this was one single incident. In fact, it was an incident so modest and local, it is bizarre that it made the news. It’s not like this was a terrorist attack. It was one stupid mistake. But as a result, Applebee’s went into OMG mode (probably out of fear of…
Hi Readers — One of you sent me this link to Moms Who Think. Apparently these are Moms Who Think TOO MUCH. They make outdoor play sound like sending your kid off to the Crusades. Voila: …unlike schoolwork, outdoor play can present physical dangers that you may find downright disturbing. Children can easily fall and hurt themselves, play dangerous games that result in harm to others, or even become targets for adult predators outside. So how can you allow your children the outdoor exercise they need without either stifling them or signing them up for an unplanned trip to the…
…that just came in the mail: Dear Free-Range Kids: My father just passed away a few weeks ago. He had a little lollipop tree in his house, that each child who visited got to pick from. It was my children’s favorite. After he passed, my daughter took 15 lollipops from the tree to give to her pre-k class. She wasn’t allowed to give them out and tell them about her Pop Pop. They are now a choking hazard for 4-5 year olds. — A Reader
Hi Readers! Here’s a follow-up to You’re a Horrible Mother, Part I. Get ready to seethe — and cheer! (And by the way, I am off for a week’s vacation with my family, so the postings may be sparse for the next few days.) — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Almost exactly a year ago – when Lenore published a piece over at ParentDish about a 5 year-old who’d been (purposely, after a discussion with her mother and the children’s librarian) left to play alone in the children’s section of the library for a couple of minutes while the mom went…
Hi Readers! The folks in this Chicago Sun-Times story are SO old, they tried to give candy to their grandchild’s schoolmates. How clueless! Don’t they know that any adult who is nice to someone else’s kids is probably grooming them for an illicit relationship…or worse? — L