Hi Readers — Here’s a letter I got today. Let’s give her some good advice. Since I get to go first, I ‘ll say the obvious: If you can afford it, send your kids to some kind of not-too-programmed camp. Other suggestions? Hey Free-Range Kids: I truly, profoundly want my older daughter to be more Free-Range. She wants more freedom. Advice on how I get there is welcome. My 13 and 11 year old girls are on summer vacation, my spouse and I both work. The oldest is in open rebellion because, despite my claims that I want…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers — A few years ago, when my sister and I were contemplating assisted living for our mom (who has Alzheimer’s), I visited a place that was really pretty and cheerful and had a lot going for it, including a cool program whereby patients each had a box with some artifacts from their old life in it: A former secretary might have a typewriter. A former engineer might have some blueprints. The folks could take them out and “use” them, which seemed pretty ideal. But — of course there’s a but — I happened to arrive at snack time,…
Hi Readers! This little note just got me thinking. Read it and I’ll give you my thoughts. It’s from a guy named Barry Jacobs in Brooklyn and here’s his blog. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I hate the media. Watch shows aimed at kids on Nickelodeon or Disney– they show kids with amazing imaginations, doing things with unbelievable freedom, having exciting adventures and almost always being smarter than the adults. When parents are shown, they are usually genial characters with vague, but obeyed, authority. Compare that to the network news aimed at adults: Kids are stupid and need to be…
Hi Readers — Here’s a note I liked, with a caveat. I actually don’t think it is all that dumb for the media to remind parents about basic safety, as they do in the story below: “Don’t mow the lawn with kids nearby.” This is a fine thing to point out from time time, just like, “Don’t let your kids play in the pool without adult supervision,” “Don’t speed through yellow lights,” and, “Keep your space heater away from the drapes,” etc., etc. What I object to is the way these otherwise possibly helpful tidbits are played out on TV:…
Hi Readers! Here’s a terrifying but wonderful story of what happened when a mom going about 55 miles an hour suddenly blacked out — with her three kids in the car. Thank goodness one was a very smart, quick-thinking young man. Let’s remember the things our kids are capable of instead of treating them all like precious little dumb-dumbs. Have a great week! — Lenore
Hi Readers — Here’s a post from the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood about School Bus TV. The idea of kids being force-fed even MORE screen time just nauseates me. Fortunately, Josh Golin, associate director of the Campaign, articulates the arguments against bus TV far better than my fake retching sounds. He also references his group’s successful 4-year fight against BusRadio, an equally appalling idea to pipe in radio — and ads — to moppets riding the bus to school. — L. THE NEXT BUS RADIO? BY JOSH GOLIN Haven’t we been down this road before? A few years ago,…
Hey Folks — What a treat! After artist Richard Estell saw this anti-Free-Range cartoon in the New York Daily News: Estell drew a cartoon of his own. (Note what it says on the newspaper in the garbage: Homelessness – Not Funny.) Thanks, Richard!
Hi Folks! Here’s a note from KaBOOM!, the non-profit dedicated to making sure there are playgrounds everywhere, and that kids actually get out and enjoy them. Like “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day,” KaBOOM! has a week in September when it encourages communities to get all the kids outside, playing together. And now the community with the best plans for revamping a playground, or getting kids active, or creating community connectedness seems to be eligible for a grant, too. A biggie! So here, without further ado, I present to you: KaBOOM! (a name with vaguely terrorist…
Hi Readers! I know not everyone’s on Twitter, but I’m always posting little tidbits there that maybe aren’t big enough to warrant a whole blog post. So in case you missed ’em, here are some recent Tweets. (And if you want to join Twitter, just click here.) My tag, or screen name, whatever it’s called, is, of course, freerangekids. — Lenore * 7th graders discover cool thing on Mars. (So why are they “too young” to do anything else, like stay home alone?) http://yhoo.it/9hx5po * Brilliant Wall St. Journal piece by Bryan Caplan on how we don’t have to work…
Hey Readers — I’m not getting totally lazy (I hope), but I DO keep getting these great things I want to post and that I think you’ll love, too. Here’s the latest, from a Tucson, AZ., mom of four: DON’T CALL ME BRAVE, by AMY UTZINGER I don’t like being called brave. You’d think it’s a positive thing, but I don’t t think so. So my kids are going to diving lessons this summer. We drive there on the way back from another activity, but the pool is quite near my house. The first day I stayed just to see…