Hi Folks! This Tues. and Weds. I’m heading to Columbia University here in New York City where they’re hosting Play On — a conference where we’re all supposed to bring our sneakers. That’s because in addition to hearing speakers talk about the importance of play, we’ll also be learning some “street” games and remembering why running around is so important! Remembering with our aching, middle-aged muscles! And guess what? Free-Range Kids readers get a special offer on the tickets — half price! Here’s the official release about the event. Maybe I’ll see you there! (Don’t throw the dodgeball at me!)…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers! I just got back to the United States and the first thing I saw at the airport was, naturally, People Magazine. This week’s cover story, “Deadly Bullying,” was prompted by the horrible case of Tyler Clementi. Tyler’s college roommate streamed live video of his sexual encounter with a man, leading Tyler to commit suicide. I have no problem linking this horrible invasion of privacy — this absolute betrayal of human decency — to Tyler’s death. I do have a problem with calling it “bullying.” Why? Because this was beyond bullying. It was a hate crime. By calling it…
Hi Readers — Here’s the latest. A quickie! Dear Free-Range Kids: I belong to a fancy-dancy gym that has great childcare — kids play organized games, play on the playground and do real activities…no TVs or computers. There are clipboards for the different age groups where you sign your child in and out. Today when I walked in, the table that previously held these clipboards was gone. After looking around I found the clipboards sitting in clear plastic wall pockets mounted at about eye level, with pens in the pockets. Another mom and I gave the coordinator a puzzled look…
Hi Readers! This just in from the middle of the country, where delusional do-gooders dwell: Dear Free-Range Kids: Greetings! I live in Lincoln NE, which is a fairly level headed community for the most part. I was reminded of this yet again recently with an incident involving my wife… Parking is nuts at our school (a good reason to walk), so one day my wife didn’t get there in time to get a good parking spot. She had to park somewhere else besides “the usual,” which ended up being in a drive up lane right in front of a play…
Hi Folks! Yes, Wednesday is the day for kids to do what they used to do without it requiring a special event. And let’s hope your school signs on without all the shenanigans of my friend’s school. There, any parent who wants to help out by, say, acting as a crossing guard, must first undergo a background check. Because obviously volunteering for a single day, outside, and molestation go hand in hand. Also: While her school is ENCOURAGING “Walk to School Wednesdays” it is FORBIDDING Walk to School Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Fridays. That’s right. Kids along the bus route…
Hi Readers! My friend and inspiration, Gever Tulley, just got this GREAT write up in The New York Times by the lyrical Lawrence Downes. Allow me to lift it in full: Playing With Fire By LAWRENCE DOWNES Rearing a child is already a journey through self-doubt and guilt, and now here comes Gever Tulley to say we’re doing it wrong, and that what we really need to do is hand our young ones power tools and let them lick nine-volt batteries. Mr. Tulley is a pedagogical theorist, though not an academic one. He wrote a book, soon to be out…
Hi New Yorkers! Today — Sunday, Oct. 3 — is the “Ultimate Block Party” at the bandshell area in Central Park, from 11 till 5 (enter at 72nd and 5th). I know it sounds a little strange to say there will be booths and volunteers teaching kids about things as simple as playing “store,” or making music with pots and pans. But let’s give credit to the organizers, a group called Play for Tomorrow. Their goal is a noble one: to bring old-fashioned play back into the lives of kids. In their own words: In 2009, a small group of…
Hi Readers — This story makes me sad and sick but it doesn’t surprise me. The same thing is happening at playgrounds: No adults are allowed without a kid — as if every adult who LIKES or even LOVES kids must also want to MOLEST them. Good ol’ “worst first” thinking. Anyway, here’s the latest: Dear Free-Range Kids: Thought you might be interested in what happened to me today. My husband and I had some appointments and arranged to meet afterwards at the recently renovated Cambridge Public Library. I had brought my laptop and my husband some paperwork, and we…
Hi Readers! The Australian media have been very keen on the Free-Range Kids story. I’ve done more than a dozen TV, radio and print interviews so far, but it wasn’t until this morning, when I was on a drive-time radio talk show, that I finally heard the words: “Oh, I could never let my child out of my sight. I just couldn’t live with myself if something terrible happened.” What’s amazing is that this is pretty much what I hear EVERY time I am interviewed in America. So it seems as if catastrophizing every aspect of childhood has not yet…
Hi Folks — My friend, who is a magazine editor, is already compiling her December gift guide (of course), and one of the many products that just crossed her desk is this: A backpack with a built-in car alarm! Just pull the string and the thing starts shrieking. “Because,” my friend noted, “nothings says ‘Happy Holidays’ quite like a school bag with a built-in car alarm.” Yes, that is why we are friends. Good day/night from Australia — Lenore (who is not giving out the URL for the backpack peddlers because they don’t deserve publicity).