Justin Murphy at The Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester, NY reports that: Children at Pittsford’s Jefferson Road Elementary School who come up with a fun new game for the playground will need to do a few things before recruiting their classmates to play along. First, they should write out the name of the game, the rules of play and the mechanism for rotating other children into play if it’s in progress. Their parents can then submit that form to the chairwoman of the school PTSA Parents on the Playground committee. The committee will review the game to ensure that it…
Author: lskenazy
This week’s Time cover story may remind you of our post from last week, The Case Against Starting Serious Soccer Lessons Too Soon. Time’s cover is: Crazy Travel. Crazy Costs. Crazy Stress. HOW KID SPORTS TURNED PRO Time’s press release summarized the issues perfectly (boldface mine): This week’s TIME cover story focuses on the booming business that is overwhelming American families: the youth sports industry. Sean Gregory writes, “Across the nation, kids of all skill levels, in virtually every team sport, are getting swept up by a youth sports economy that increasingly resembles the pros and at increasingly early…
This “WARNING NO LIFEGUARD ON DUTY” sign comes to us from Ron Lieber, author of the “The Opposite of Spoiled.” He spied it at a Park City, Utah, rec center next to a kiddie splash pad where there is no pool anywhere in sight. Consider it a stark reminder that we have not only gone crazy with fear about unlikely dangers, we’re also crazed with fear about about unlikely lawsuits. Or maybe there’s some kind of “warning sign mentality” that is the modern-day equivalent of putting a horseshoe on the wall for good luck: Can’t hurt! By the by, read…
The woman who looked to be about 60 walked up to the podium and spoke in a quiet voice. She was at a St. Louis synagogue that was hosting an evening of presentations about the sex offender registry. I spoke, too. But this mom’s story has haunted me in the weeks since. I asked for a copy of her speech, which is below. She prefers to remain anonymous. – L. THE SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY AND THE MENTALLY DISABLED I am a mother, advocate and caretaker of a 30 year old young man with IDD. That is an intellectual and developmental…
If you’re wondering how far our fears of accidents, predators and insurance claims can take us from sane to nutty, read on: Dear Free-Range Kids: Since all three kids are now back from the various camps they’ve attended this summer, I’ve been doing some reflection. I don’t recall summer camps being nearly as overprotective when I was a kid. We could do things like go to the bathroom on our own, at least. But in the scout camp that my younger girls attended, all activities were done with a group and kids were never to be out…
Maybe you have a favorite (and by favorite I mean most inane AND insane) parenting safety tip. My current fave, clipped from the LoveAndMarriageBlog, is an article tied to the first day of school. It lists all the photos you should never share on social media, including: *Any picture of your kid in front of the school where you can see the school’s name. *Your kid clutching a “school notebook or folder” that includes the school’s name. *A school supply list with the school’s name (surely a popular pic) All because some creep online will see your irresistible moppet, search…
A confession: I learned to ride a bike when I was 9, probably the oldest of all my friends. Maybe I started a trend? Dear Free-Range Kids: I was recently visiting the Long Island town I moved away from several years ago, and was visiting some old friends. I have a 7-year-old daughter, and she was at a playdate with several kids, ages ranging from seven to ten. I was absolutely shocked to learn that my daughter was the only child out of the whole group that knew how to ride a bicycle. The rest of the kids still…
My kids’ public school released kids from homework a few years ago — a move met with some pushback. As the NY Daily News put it: Parents Outraged After Principal Dumps Homework for more Playtime. . As if only the time spent bending over worksheets is learning! Prof. Peter Gray, author of Free to Learn, explains on the site Aeon: . Learning, according to that almost automatic view, is what children do in school and, maybe, in other adult-directed activities. Playing is, at best, a refreshing break from learning. From that view, summer vacation is just a long recess, perhaps…
See below. This is the kind of “safety tip” that enrages me: a vague warning that kids must never be trusted to do anything on their own because any kind of imperfect “choice” COULD lead to death and it COULD have been prevented if only YOU, the parent, never took your eyes off your them. If you’re not doing that, WE WARNED YOU (without giving you any actual suggestions, perspective, or statistics — just guilt and terror). This is NOT advice. It is lazy fear-mongering and finger-pointing masquerading as advice. Dear Free Range Kids: I took my 11-year-old in for…
Is your child’s school being cancelled for moon-in-front-of-sun reasons? If so, let’s hear all about it. And where are you? And what’s the buzz? Thanks. Say sighted! — L .