Hi Readers: Here’s a nice reminder that Free-Rangers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and descriptions. — L Dear Free-Range Kids: I have a 14-year-old daughter with high functioning autism. This weekend, she had a little get-together at a arcade-type facility for her birthday. It is pretty large but very safe: games, rides, laser tag, etc. She was waiting in line with her 25-year-old friend with Down Syndrome for a carousel ride. I work very hard to make my daughter as independent as possible. My mother (her grandmother) was with us at the party, but she needed to leave.…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers — One of you sent this in. We are living in scary times,indeed! From our local police blotter: Petty theft from unlocked vehicle on Coventry Road. A resident reported juveniles wandering the street on Ocean View Avenue. In a lucky find, the owner of a stolen vehicle from Coventry Road found it in Emeryville, and drove it home to Kensington. Sigh.
Hi Readers! You’ll like this! L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Just wanted to thank you. On Saturday I misplaced my 6-year-old son for half an hour, long enough that we had the museum staff and state park ranger looking with us — long enough for most people to completely panic themselves and everyone around them. But I reminded myself that he loves being independent and was likely not freaked out, and most importantly, I remembered the point you make over and over: People are kind and caring. I don’t know a single person who wouldn’t help a misplaced child, including people…
Hi Readers! Here’s a brilliant note from a gal named Ann: Dear Free-Range Kids. Here’s a Liberty Mutual ad with the tag line “Do the right thing.” The situation is a mom picking up her two kids from soccer. They’re late and need to get to the airport. But another kid is still sitting on the bench waiting for his dad. It’s almost dusk and the kid is probably 10-12. Should the mom leave him ALONE at the field? Or should she forgo getting to the airport to make sure that the kid isn’t unattended. Guess what the “right thing”…
Hi Readers! Get a load of this — little kids in Australia have been found guilty of violating graffiti laws with their chalk drawings on a sidewalk outside a cafe. This might not be such a Free-Range issue except for this: Mayor Ben Stennett visited the cafe yesterday as anger mounted. Almost 200 people have signed a petition to support the drawings, which [cafe owner] Ms White is happy to erase each day. “The mayor said they would like to issue us a permit but can’t because it raises health and safety issues, in case somebody fell over a child…
Hi Readers: I seethed along with this one. — L. SMILE FOR THE MISSING PERSONS FILE! by Ellen Braun She was all of five feet tall with a charming smile and her weapon of choice was a digital camera. So how did this mother of two ruin my afternoon? It happened in the magnificent state of Vermont. I was relishing the crisp fresh air of the Green Mountain State when my enjoyment was abruptly shattered. No, this woman did not insult me, nor did she hit me over the head. Here’s the story: Ms. Camera and I were waiting at…
Hi Readers — What’s wrong with this commercial for the campaign, “Let’s Move” ? [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6utraKblMw] Well, first of all, it assumes it is OUR JOB, as parents, to keep coming up with one-minute exercises that will some how magically take the place of an entire CHILDHOOD spent running around. Secondly, it doesn’t even remotely suggest that maybe kids can entertain themselves or be active of their own accord. Thirdly, all this “moving” lasts about a minute. So if you want your kids to move for even half a measly hour a day, you have to come up with 29 more…
Readers: This is a topic we have visited before, but it continues to grow as an “issue.” Today in my inbox I got this notice from “Safe Kids,” urging people to call 911 whenever they see a kid in a car, and using this tragic story as its rationale — the story of a mom who forgot her child in the car for 10 hours. Seems to me there is a rather huge difference between accidentally forgetting your child in the car, and deliberately choosing to leave him there for a short while while you run an errand. But the…
Readers, I saw this the other day — a back brace that allows you to carry your child on your back literally up to age 7 and 60 pounds — and had been too stunned to sum up my feelings…till now. But here they are: This is embarrassing. I’m sure the carrier may be helpful to the parents of some special needs children. Perhaps it is helpful in some strange situations, like climbing out of a crevice with your sleepy second grader after you’ve cut off your arm. But the idea that it is HELPFUL to carry a child capable…
Hi Readers! Yes, a little more perspective: Dear Free-Range Kids: Less than 24 hours ago I was in Honduras on a service trip. We did a medical clinic in a small rural community, and were passing out vitamins and Tylenol to many of the residents. We were giving vitamins to a young girl who looked about 10 but said she was 14. Making small talk, we asked her if she liked school. She said she had stopped going to school when her mother died so she could take care of her brothers and sisters. She…