Hi Readers — A note from a reader who’s a reader, Linda Wightman, who blogs at Lift Up Your Hearts: Dear Free-Range Kids: I seem to be seeing everything through Free-Range eyes these days. I don’t know how old you are, but did you or your kids ever read Elizabeth Enright’s The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, and other Melendy tales? I was recently re-reading them, on the grounds that any book good enough for children is good enough for an adult seeking distraction from the pain caused by imprudently descending from high altitude with a head cold. To quote from…
Author: lskenazy
Hi etbsaasibs Readers — This note is RIGHT ON! Dear Free-Range Kids: Just thought I’d let you know of this snippet from the most recent All You Magazine. It incensed me to the point of writing an email to the author scolding her for her “professional advice” (this column is written by “Relationship Expert” Nancy Carol Rybski, PhD). Here is the article: Q. A 6-year-old boy in our neighborhood stops by often to play with my 7-year-old son. His mom and dad never check on him or pick him up – he just walks home when I say it’s time…
Hi Readers! I have a piece running on ParentDish titled, “GPSing Your Kid is Crazy.” It argues that, far from really giving parents “peace of mind, “GPSing does the opposite. It reinforces the idea that our kids are in danger every second they are not in our line of sight. It makes us distrust our community, which means we hold our kids even tighter. The constant connectivity of GPS also makes us panic whenever we CAN’T reach our kids — an experience I’ve approximated when I couldn’t get my sons on their cell phones. It’s the same panic you feel…
Cave, cave, cave. Apparently Sesame Street has decided not to air this Elmo/Katy Perry duet thanks to Katy’s own duo — the ones in her skin-tight outfit that had grown-ups worrying about kids seeing “Cleavage Street.” Or so the rumor goes, according to the folks at TMZ. (Yeah, yeah, I know. Look, I don’t use them as my source for MUCH.) Anyway, this was too cute a clip not to show you. So voila: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUsIGiYL5rk
Hi Readers! The question that Emily poses, below, is so central to Free-Ranging that I’m embarrassed to admit I don’t have a truly killer response. But when in need, as we teach our kids, ask for help. So that is what I’m doing — asking all of you: How can we let our kids do things on their own at an age that WE consider appropriate, if much of the rest of society does NOT? I’d love to hear from any of you who have done this successfully, as well as those who have not. I’d also appreciate any feedback…
Hi Readers! One of the things I do in my book (remember that?) is show that what we think of as a “normal” amount of child oversight is actually not the norm around the world. Here’s a mom who is enjoying that gap! — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m living in Okinawa, Japan now, while my husband serves a three year tour on a military base here. We were fortunate to get a nearly American-sized house off-base with a yard, albeit a small one, so as to immerse ourselves in the culture. When we arrived in 2008 our kids were…
Hi Readers — Here’s a piece about something I’d never heard of, “Silent Sunday.” (Of course, maybe it would be hard to hear about something silent.) The post about it comes from Cindy Wilson, communications director at Playworks, an organization that provides play and physical activity to low-income schools in urban cities. Playworks is hosting its Play On Conference in New York October 12 – 13, bringing together some of the country’s top experts on recess, play and physical activity. (I’m going!) Wilson is also the assistant coach of a U12 girls soccer team. Here’s her piece: THE SOUND OF…
Hi Readers! Here’s the latest nonsense (and it was reported by the BBC, not The Daily Mail): A grammar school in England decided to cut back on recess when neighbors complained it was too loud. Why not cut back on, say, responding to outlandish complaints? Or on letting lawyers decide what to eviscerate fun from the school day? But no: The decision was made to take it out on the kids. After all, they don’t really have to run around, do they? It’s not like they’re primates or anything… — Lenore
Hi Readers! Such stupidity cannot be condoned: An 8-year-old was suspended LAST year for bringing a toy gun to school (accidentally), and this year, the draconian punishment continues. The difference between TOY and WEAPON, between MISTAKE and PREMEDITATED, between KILLER and KID seems to be utterly lost on these “educators.” The school board said they would admit Samuel into a correctional school for problem children who have been expelled located in Hallandale Beach. The parents refused and believe their son has already paid for his mistake enough. Samuel has since been home-schooled, but his parents want him back in public…
Hi Readers — Here’s the latest from the world that wants to keep you safe. Very safe. Safer than safer. Safer than SANE: RECALL NOTICE: Chuck E. Cheese’s is voluntarily recalling its Light-Up Ring and Star Glasses. The ring comes in blue, green, purple, yellow, and pink colors, and the glasses come in a red color. The Light-Up Ring was either sold as part of a promotional treasure chest cup from August 2009 through June 25, 2010 or distributed, at no cost, during several Parent-Teacher Association conventions in April 2009, July 2009 and March 2010 through May 2010. The Star…