Hi Readers — As a week of no school looms, here are some ideas for outdoor fun from Heidi Ahrens, a Colorado mom of two very active Free-Range girls. Heidi runs the website and social network community OutdoorBabyNetwork. You may also find traces of Heidi on NYC streets where she once played. Me? I love Idea #4: How fun would it be to give out hot cider on a cold day? Fun! — L Top Six Holiday fun Outdoor Activities by Heidi Ahrens Don’t stay cooped up inside during the holiday season. Get some fresh air, play with the kids…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers: We interrupt this well-focused blog to bring you my Year in Carols. I write ’em every year — can’t help myself. Sing ’em, share ’em, post ’em on YouTube if you can’ keep a tune. (I can’t!) We’ll be back to Free-Range issues very soon. But meantime: Enjoy! — L. THE YEAR IN CAROLS By LENORE SKENAZY FROSTY THE TRAVELER (TO “FROSTY THE SNOWMAN”) Frosty the Traveler was a snowman on the go With a corn-cob pipe and a carry-on And a book by Scott Turrow. . Frosty the Traveler, had a plane to catch that day So…
Hi Readers — When I go around giving my Free-Range Kids lectures, at some point I hold up a pair of little knit things that look like mini sweat bands and I ask the audience, “What are these?” And when I finally inform them, “Baby knee pads,” they shriek in disbelief. (At least, the ones who aren’t shrieking, “My mother-in-law just gave us those!”) Since when do kids need knee pads to crawl safely? Aren’t babies born with built-in knee pads called “baby fat”? Isn’t that why their knees adorably dimple? Well, now it turns out that knee pads aren’t…
Hey Readers! As you know, one of the things I talk about a lot is not only that kids are SAFER than we think, but they’re also more COMPETENT than pop culture leads us to believe. Here to remind us just how clever kids can be is this story, of 8-year-olds who studied whether bees can learn patterns and colors. Then they got their research published in a peer-reviewed journal. That’s the buzz for this morning. Enjoy! — L.
Hi Readers! So many folks sent in this story today, I present it to you in all its insanity, even though it struck me as a little too bizarre and garbled to be 100% accurate. For instance, the crazy accusations were reported to the press only by one of the accused. Ho ho hmm. Still, Christmas is a time for stories so — enjoy. But first, keep your children safe! Lock up the candy canes! — L.
Readers: Once in a while, I have to go off Free-Range topic for a sec. Like now. This video had me sobbing. My shirt is actually WET. So I had to share it. It does seem appropriate for the season! [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIa563ltg5U] And here’s the link for how to sign up to be a bone marrow donor. Talk about a gift that keeps on giving! — L.
Hi Readers! In case you have some friends who still think you are IMAGINING a huge sea-change in our culture, a veritable tsunami of distrust in our kids, their competence and our communities, we present two Sesame Street clips. Same story line. Different era. Can you spot the difference? OLDEN DAYS MODERN (ISH) ERA
FREE-RANGE KIDS PRESENTS THE 2010 GOLDEN HELICOPTER PARENTING AWARDS FOR GREAT MOMENTS IN OVER-PARENTING And Media Fear-mongering About Kids PRESENTED BY LENORE SKENAZY, FOUNDER OF “FREE-RANGE KIDS” (www.freerangekids.com) Free-Range Kids is the book, blog and movement dedicated to giving kids back the fun and freedom of childhood — the kind of childhood that makes kids sunny and self-reliant. We fight the pop culture tape-loop that says children are in constant danger and incapable of doing much more than sitting in the back of the minivan, eating Pop-Tarts and being driven the three blocks to school. How wacky was 2010 when…
Hi Readers! While we’re on the topic of crib recalls, as well as when parenting intervention is called for and all that, I just had to link to this phenomenal essay from The Economist: “Not All Tragedies are Preventable.” As it says in the opening paragraph: LEGISLATION that bears the name of a victim of a particular crime or accident is often bad legislation. That’s because lawmakers, feeling the pressure of an emotionally-charged constituency, tend to overreact, instituting a broad and aggressive policy in response to a specific, perhaps rare problem. And so it is with the Cameron Gulbransen Kids…
Readers — I think I need a Valium. Read this. A mom is ticketed for letting her 5.5 year old son walk home from school. Even though she BEGGED the school to let him take the bus. Even though she went to city council meetings and BEGGED the town to put in crossing guards. Even though she makes her son wear an ORANGE VEST AND HELMET so as to be as visible as possible along the route she taught him — the SAFEST one possible. Even though she has a younger child at home AND an older child with cerebral…