Hi Readers — Thanks to YOU I get a ton of cool links and stories every day. Since I can’t get around to blogging about all of them (and sometimes don’t even know what to say, beyond, “Wow!” and “Yikes!” and “Gah!”), I tweet them out. And since I know not everyone’s on Twitter, I’m just going to give you some of my recent tweets right here. Enjoy! Discuss! — Lenore *Such a funny, weird sign. And think how it will affect USA kids’ self esteem (you darn Canadians)! http://bit.ly/celp9t *John Walsh coins term, “Bus Surfing.” Pervs following the school…
Author: lskenazy
Here’s how! Phew! All thanks to the U.K. show, “That Mitchell and Webb Look.” L. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UjGwW9FN_4]
Hi Readers! New research shows, “A Simple Morning Walk to School Could Reduce Stress Reactivity…” well, it’s a really long title (41 words!). But basically, a new study at the University of Buffalo concluded that walking to school seems to reduce the amount of stress a heart feels a little later, and that’s good because such stress can lead, down the road, to cardiovascular disease. The study was a small, slightly strange one that compared 20 kids who sat in a chair and saw a slide show of passing suburbia to 20 kids who walked a mile on a treadmill…
Hi Readers! Here’s a story from Palo Alto Online about some neighbors who created their own “camp.” It’s run by older kids for younger kids (with parental supervision), it’s very casual, and it’s just a great way for everyone in the nabe to get to know each other, and also get used to playing outside, with each other. It’s sort of like re-introducing a wounded bird back into the wild: A slightly artificial program by which kids are introduced back into the world of childhood. Hooray for the moms who started this and hooray for the group that inspired them,…
Hi Readers! I just got this very legitimate question about what the heck underwear flammability regulations (see below) have to do with Free-Range Kids, and as I was writing up my response, I realized it made sense to share it. So here you go: a Q &A with — me! Dear Free-Range Kids: How is this a Free-Range issue? It’s about a government safety rule (agree with it or not, it is what it is), and a store that has to comply and a manufacturer who could be sued — and forget could, WOULD be sued because we live in…
Hi Readers: This one is so weird, such a PRIME example of bureaucracy gone wild, I don’t have much to say except [sound of eyes crossing, drool dripping from slackened jaw]. Apparently, Canadian Sears stores have just recalled a line of girls’ boxer shorts sold for past four years without any adverse incident. So why recall them now? Somehow, they have been reclassified as “sleepwear,” and sleepwear must hold to a higher non-flammability standard than undies. So now they are not fire retardant enough. I’ll tell you what IS retardant enough… L.
Hi Readers!- It’s Sunday. Let’s have a little fun. We can worry about the way the world is going, but later. I, for one, needed this! — Lenore (who, yes, also also worried about her falling off the countertop. But she didn’t. So enjoy.) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPObkCBl-Fs]
Hi Readers — This just in! The top elected official in Oregon’s Multnomah County apologized to Julie Murphy, age 7, who was threatened with a fine for running a lemonade stand without a permit. Here’s a breath of fresh air, common sense and just plain summer joy from OregonLive.com: While the county inspectors were doing their job, [the county Chairman Jeff] Cogen said, the rules are meant for professional food service operators. Inspectors need to use professional judgment, he said. “This isn’t something we need to be using our limited resources to crack down on,” he said. What’s more, Cogen…
Oh Readers — What are we going to do with this country? In Portland, Ore, health inspectors shut down a 7-year-old’s lemonade stand at some kind of fair because, “Our role is to protect the public.” From what? Summer? Fun? Kids? The right to DO something, instead of just sitting at home, quietly watching reruns? If any health inspectors are reading this, I say: Come arrest my son, too. He was selling lemonade at a summer community last weekend — or trying to. Then younger, cuter kids saw him and go the bright idea of opening a stand right next…
Hi Readers — Here’s a piece I wrote for ParentDish about the topic of kiddie pix. Adults are getting really paranoid about the idea of children in photos, as if any snapshot or video of a kid is going to be used for scary, nefarious or disgusting purposes. As a reporter and sometime video maker, I can’t stand the fact that in many cases, we’re not even allowed to shoot casual images of kids at play, if their faces are identifiable. That’s why so often on TV you’ll see pictures of kids’ LEGS running around a playground, but not the…