Folks — it doesn’t get any creepier than this: A dad in Britain takes pix of his adorable sons on an inflatable slide and finds himself accused of all manner of disbusting stuff. Can we say it again? We are in the midst of a Pedophile Panic! When Gary Crutchley started taking pictures of his children playing on an inflatable slide he thought they would be happy reminders of a family day out. But the innocent snaps of seven-year-old Cory, and Miles, five, led to him being called a ‘pervert’. The woman running the slide at Wolverhampton Show asked him…
Author: lskenazy
Hi Readers — Get ready to start gnashing. A bill in Massachusetts would require all schools there to “professionally” sterlize their band isntruments, according to this article in the Wicked Local Sumerville (great name!). And guess what? Only one company in Massachusetts does this. The owner of that company, a dentist, insists that without this pricey sterilization — $20-$30 per instrument and done twice a year — children’s health is at risk. But an epidemilogist at the Mass. Department of Public Health, Alfred DiMaria, points out in the article that: …there has never been a documented outbreak of illness…
…and have even taken some heat for it. Alternatively, she’s also looking — though it may be hard to find them here — for parents who drive their kids the mere block or two. Or pick them up from the bus stop just down the street. Or…you know. Helicopter them to and from school. Also: Does anyone’s Parent-Teacher Association auction off the prime drop-off space in front of the door? She’d like someone to talk to her about that, too. And she’s on a tight deadline so drop a line…soon! I will foward her your email addresses. Thanks! — Lenore
Hi Readers! Remember during the summer I ran a post by businessman Rick Woldenberg about the wacky new Consumer Product Safety law? Here’s a little of what he said: Readers of Free-Range Kids may not be surprised to learn that Congress has enacted far-reaching legislation to save your children from the dangers involved in reading an old book, riding a new bike or even using a Barbie pen. That is, if after using these items, they generally eat them. Feel safer already? The Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act became law on August 14, 2008 and it dramatically changes…
Hi Readers — Today’s New York Times has a really great piece about a town in New Jersey whose sand-bottomed, spring-water filled swimming hole has been the joy of local kids since 1929. Until, of course, today. Now half the residents want to fill the pond in and replace it with a standard concrete pool, making it easier to watch their children. The other half say this is helicopter parenting taken to extremes. The pro-pool people cite the death of a 14-year-old last year — the third drowning in 80 years — as proof that the swmming hole is unsafe.…
Hi Readers — A few posts down we were discussing a questionable arrest for “child endangerment.” In this case, the parents had left their 9- and 6-year-olds waiting in the car while they ran into Walmart for what turned out to be half an hour. Vis a vis child safety: The windows were cracked, the doors were locked, the 6-year-old was sleeping and the 9-year-old was reading. The older child was also given a cell phone. Here is what one prosecutor wrote, which I found insightful: I am a former prosecutor who worked for some time in abuse and neglect.…
A message most schools are probably copying word for word right now. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C5Rnb7J3sU]
Hi Free-Rangers: Here’s a brand new fear to leave you with for the weekend: “Raccoon Latrines Pose Risk to Kids.” A new risk? OMG! Lock up the kids! Reader Lorie McGraw found this article explaining — in great detail — how these “latrines,” found all over suburbia, get filled with…what you’d expect. (Put down your raisins before reading any further.) If a raccoon is infected with roundworm parasites, the worms’ tiny eggs fester in the latrines (aren’t you glad you’re reading this post?) and kids who eat whatever they find lying around, could get seriously sick. How sick? So…
Next Tuesday is Pres. Obama’s speech to children, urging them to stay in school and read books and, for all I know, brush their teeth. It’s about that controversial…or so you’d think. But of course, nothing is uncontroversial in these hyper-umbrage-taking days, so we’re hearing from some parents and school administrators and concerned citizens that this is wasting “valuable” school time and amounts to “brainwashing.” They’re treating the speech like it’s a heroin demo for first time users. Can we please calm down? This is our President, the guy we elected to lead and inspire our nation, and here is…
Hi Readers — A fellow named Brian sent in this note about kids and nature. It sort of dovetails with a study just released in England that found an alarming percentage of kids are spending so much time indoors, they can’t identify things in the natural world anymore, including daddy longlegs. I’m no huge fan of spiders, but daddy longlegs seem like they should be part of everyone’s childhood, one way or another. (Just not laying their eggs in Bubble Yum.) — Lenore No Child Left Inside by Brian Last year I had the opportunity to work at an Outdoor…