Hi Readers — This essay comes to us from a reader who sounds like she had an enviable vacation (at least I’m envying it) and a revelation, to boot! Her name is Amanda Lee and her blog is passionfruit.passionfruit@cogeco.ca Free-Range in Thailand by Amanda Lee The crackdown starts as soon as we step back on North American soil: “Mind their fingers!” (On clearing the baggage check). “Where are her shoes?” (In my carry-on.) “They could get hurt!” (The kids are walking the wrong way on a completely empty moving sidewalk.) We are returning to Canada from the tiny island of…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers: Here’s fkfknefkff something very nice: America’s 392 national parks are suspending their entrance fees next week — April 17-25. Moreover, a bunch of them will have kid activities. In truth, I had no idea our national parks charged entrance fees at all. But it’s nice to learn that they do at the very same time I’m learning that they’re being suspended. Here’s how to find a park in your area. And April 24 is Junior Ranger Day. Click on this to find out about Junior Rangers and how to keep them from getting eaten by bears. No. Wait.…
Hi Readers — Not sure if this is real, but it seems to be: Baby’s First Cubicle! Yes, a toy kiddie kubicle komplete with komputer! Let’s come up with some other funny things it should include besides the chair and a built-in mouse pad. Maybe baby’s first pink slip? Or baby’s first RSS feed he can read at work and comment on? — Lenore
Hi Readers! Wow. I’d heard anecdotes about this… guess it’s really true: Some parents are hovering, managing, massaging the careers of their post-college kids. (And some companies think that’s just fine? Even weirder!) Read all about it in forbes.com.
Hi Readers — Here’s a note I just got. Really, really strange! Dear Free-Range Kids: Totally off topic, but as I was wrapping up my taxes last night, I saw (on p.22 of the 1040A instructions) this little gem: “If your child is presumed by law enforcement authorities to have been kidnapped by someone who is not a family member, you may be able to take the child into account in determining your eligibility for head of household or qualifying widow(er) filing status, the dependency exemption, the child tax credit, and the earned income credit (EIC).” You mean if my…
Hi Readers : You read it here first! Free-Range Kids is officially declaring Saturday, May 22 — the weekend before Memorial Day — the very first, “Take Our Children to the Park… And Leave Them There Day.” What?! Just that. If our goal is to get kids back outside (it is), and playing together (it is), and for parents to relax (it is), and to start creating community again (it sure is!!!), then “Take Our Children to the Park… And Leave Them There Day” is a great first step. Across the country — what the heck, across the world —…
Hi Readers — Here’s a nice little story. Nine-year-old Richard “Rashad” Scott came upon a lost, crying 5-year-old and flagged down a police car, in the rain, to help them both. Good work! And how great to read a story that reminds us: Most of us, even youngsters, want to help, not hurt. — Lenore
Hi Readers — The Wall Street Journal was wondering that very question. Especially since Finnish school doesn’t start till age 7 (no pre-k! no k!) and there isn’t a lot of homework. The resulting article, by Ellen Gamerman, is pretty fascinating — and envy-provoking — but here’s the nicest Free-Range paragraph: Once school starts, the Finns are more self-reliant. While some U.S. parents fuss over accompanying their children to and from school, and arrange every play date and outing, young Finns do much more on their own. At the Ymmersta School in a nearby Helsinki suburb, some first-grade students trudge…
Hi Folks — Got this question over the transom (well, Internet) yesterday. Got me thinking/humming/blogging! Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve been thinking about “Let Me Fall” and wondering what other songs might be out there that speak to the Free-Range Kids movement, on both the serious side & more lighthearted ones. Might be a fun question to pose to your blog! I just looked at my “Believe in Me” playlist I put together. Maybe some of these? Visions of a Sunset Imagine Cole’s Song May It Be Beautiful Boy Rainbow Connection Bein’ Green The Last Unicorn Steward of Gondor (“Home…
Hi Readers — This is just an odd one: Some parents made postage stamps with their young daughter’s picture on them to stick on invites to her birthday party. Then the parents had some of the stamps left over, so they used them to mail their bills. Some nut saw one of the stamps, noted the family’s return address and dropped the parents a letter saying that by putting their kid’s picture on a letter, they were ASKING SOME CRAZY PERSON to do “GOD KNOWS WHAT.” Seems to me they were asking a crazy person to drop them a crazy…