Hi Readers! Have a great weekend! — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I just wanted to share with you a small but happy Free-Range story that probably wouldn’t have come about if your site hadn’t given me the courage to articulate the reasons why my children should be allowed to do strange things like walk to school alone. Every morning I stand out on the footpath to wave goodbye to my 7-year-0ld and 5-year-old as they head off to school on their own. They now no longer want me to wait until I can no longer see them, and I don’t…
Author: lskenazy
Readers — This is a non-story about a mom who got her baby’s stroller onto the D.C. metro but then the doors closed before she could get on. Ritual infant sacrifice time? Surprisingly, no. Instead, the strangers gathered round the (sleeping) baby, alerted the authorities and got the stroller off at the next stop, where yet more people protected the tyke. All of which prompted one bystander to say that she felt terrible for the mom because this was, clearly, “the worst place in the world to lose a baby.” Worst? Where a crowd of people took care of the…
Readers — Sometimes I get so fed up with our fearmongering culture, I almost can’t take pen to blog. Or pixel to blog. Or whatever. But here I am. A reader sent in this zidrstditk link to an extremely popular app that not only TRACKS all your family members, it also alerts you to when they are anywhere near a registered sex offender. This might be helpful, were the registry not jammed with folks who pose no threat to kids at all, chiefly teens who had sex with their slightly underage teenage girlfriends. (More on that here.) Anyway, there are…
Hi Readers! Here’s a note from a North Carolina farm mom/ EMT-technician-in-training Stevie Taylor who blogs at ruffledfeathersandspilledmilk.com. She’s taking night school classes with the leaders of tomorrow. Such as they are. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I was pleased to teach one of the college kids in class a lesson last week. He was asking fellow students for money to buy bottled water (which is $1.25 out of the vending machine!!!). I pointed to the sink that is in the classroom — we are in a medical class together — and the plastic cups that were stacked on…
Hi Readers! This mom, Kimberlee Morrison of kimleeisawesome, needs a pep talk from all of us — and perhaps some legal advice. You’ll see why. L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve been warned. Literally. By the police. My son left the park, went to El Pollo Loco and asked for water. A stranger asked him if he was hungry, the Boy, thinking the guy was being nice, said sure. The guy bought him some food — and called the police. The police called me and insisted it was not safe for me to let my 8-year-old “wander the streets alone.” They…
Hi Readers! As I read through the comments about the $9 snowball maker invented by a dad to make sure his sons’ snowballs weren’t too hard-packed, I saw that some folks thought I was a killjoy for scorning it. So I wrote back to explain that what I really object to is anyone trying to convince parents that an age-old activity is suddenly TOO DANGEROUS. And that, for some reason, THIS GENERATION is more vulnerable to injury/disappointment/disaster than any previous generation, and hence needs to be more protected. And I also object to the fact that someone is making money…
Hi Readers! In one English town, outdoor fireworks have been deemed too “dangerous” (and chilly) for kids to enjoy. So now the fireworks are inside, reports the Small World News Service: Instead of wrapping up warm to enjoy the bangs of fireworks around 100 youngsters will sit inside watching images on a projector screen. The virtual fireworks are accompanied by sounds of explosions, including ‘bangs’, ‘whistles’ and ‘crackles’ recorded from outdoor displays. Childrens groups have accused the event’s organisers of subscribing to “cotton wool culture” and killing off an important British tradition. But organisers hailed their indoor bonfire night as…
Let’s hear it for this investment! Because kid-formed snowballs are too hard to make. To deal with. To live amongst. And tiny hands get cold making snowballs. And tiny gloves get soggy. And tiny brains think that this is suddenly a big problem. And bigger brains think, “Parents will buy ANYTHING, if we can worry them enough. Woo hoo!” Coming next (I predict): the freezer-to-yard snowman.
Hi Readers — I know not all of you follow Twitter, so I’m pasting some recent tweets (Tweets?) here for your perusal. Wonder which ones you’ll comment on! L. Swing sets removed from some W. Va. schools after kid jumps off, breaks arm, gets $20,000. Stop the insanity! http://bit.ly/d36m4y Strong essay: “Confessions of a Childhood Bully” — a woman who tormented her baby sis as a kid, just…because: http://aol.it/bSmYYZ Yowza. SLEEPOVERS are the latest parental obsession. Parents TERRIFIED. http://bit.ly/9XZQGb Warning! EVERYTHING can kill you! Especially onion dip! And escalators! (My piece, in Readers Digest): http://bit.ly/c2jbLn “Judge not.” Moving, realistic piece…
Hi Readers! Meg Rosker is a writer, wife and mom of three in Redington Shores, FL. She blogs at withoutablueprint. To keep recess alive and well at your school (or bring it back from the dead), check out the resources at saverecess.com, Kaboom and Playworks! — L RECESS IS NOT A WASTE OF TIME by Meg Rosker “When my children come to school I want their bottoms in chairs, learning. When they come home, I’ll let them play.” These words were spoken to me at a recent school meeting by a woman who is a parent AND a public…