Why do we treat our tweens like toddlers? Because the rules say we have to. The other day my son had to leave middle school early for the big day: Getting his braces. I planned to meet him at the orthodontist near our home and wrote a note asking for him to be excused at 1 oc’lock. Naturally, I left phone numbers where the school could call me or my husband to confirm this wasn’t some scam on my son’s part, and I left my e-mail address, too. My son brought the note to the principal’s office where he was…
Author: lskenazy
You know you need Dr. Phil if you’re watching him on Thanksgiving. But if indeed you do tune in, you’ll see a rerun of “Extreme Moms.” One of them is me. Extreme? I’m on the show as the mom who let her 9-year-old take the subway alone, a fact that will be chiseled on my tombstone. But really I’m there, I think, as a foil for the other moms who worry so much about their children’s safety that they hardly ever let them out of their sight. Literally. Not to give too much away, but it sure felt like Dr.…
In one of the parenting magazines — I was just flipping through (all right — looking for crazy stuff to poke fun at) here’s a “tip” I found: “I fill a bag with shoelaces and outlet covers, then throw it in my purse.” Why? Because if this mom ever, God forbid, finds herself someplace that has not been baby-proofed, she goes around and does it herself. Oh, don’t mind me, I’m just tying shut all your cabinets and plugging up your outlets. — I’m surprised the woman doesn’t walk around with foam rubber to wrap around the lampposts on the…
As we contemplate Obama’s win, let’s think about his childhood for a sec. Far from being watched over every second by hovering parents, his dad split when he was still toddling and, for a while, his mom was absent, too. That’s when he was 10 and she sent him to live with his grandparents in Hawaii. Quickie Moral? There’s no one right way to raise a child and even patchwork childhoods can launch a confident kid, an amazing adult. When you find yourself worrying — as I am doing right now — “What if my son has to miss football…
Not for president. For book cover! Yes, I’m now writing “Free Range Kids: Giving Our Children the Freedom We Enjoyed Without Going Nuts With Worry,” due out this spring from Wiley. Yay Wiley! The folks there have come up with two potential covers. They wanted to do some test marketing so — here goes. Please let us know which one you like better and, if you feel like it, why. Your vote really matters. Just like in that other election. Do you prefer The Girl on the Wall — Or the Aviator Boy? Thanks so much for your help!…
Hello, Free Rangers — This is just a note to say that on Monday, Sept. 29, I’ll be on Dr. Phil discussing this whole issue. If you tune in, you’ll see that it’s about “Extreme Moms.” Naturally, I don’t think I’m extreme. I think letting kids walk to school, ride their bikes or go to a friend’s home without treating it like a trek across Siberia (or Liberia) is a good and normal thing to do. Even a wholesome, old-fashioned thing to do. But anyway — the show was really deep and surprising, as was Dr. Phil. You’ll see! And…
What seems clear and wonderful from most of the e-mail response is that Free Range parents are eager to raise Free Range kids. But they often come up against a couple of barriers. First and foremost is the fact that other parents (and, sometimes, spouses) think there is no difference between “Free Range” and “criminally negligent” parenting. I’m wondering how to start bringing those folks around. Devote a PTA meeting to the issue? (Which could, of course, horribly backfire. People LOVE to worry and sound self-righteous.) So, maybe we should all carry around child safety statistics that prove most…
I’m so glad about the conversation — and possibly new movement — going on below. Here are two letters that particularly struck me.
I left my 9-year-old at Bloomingdale’s (the original one) a couple weeks ago. Last seen, he was in first floor handbags as I sashayed out the door. Bye-bye! Have fun! And he did. He came home on the subway and bus by himself. Was I worried? Yes, a tinge. But it didn’t strike me as that daring, either. Isn’t New York as safe now as it was in 1963? It’s not like we’re living in downtown Baghdad.
Is there some snow on the ground by you? If so, do yourself a favor and go eat a handful. Have your kid eat some, too. Then wait to see if you die. If you don’t — and you won’t — you will be joyously liberated from the latest WATCH OUT YOUR KID COULD DIE FROM DOING A NORMAL KID THING warning, this one about germs in snow.