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…
Author: lskenazy
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 .
Mike Tang, the California chemist who got 56 days’ “hard labor” for making his 8-year-old son walk home at about 8 p.m. in the dark, just lost his appeal. Tang had left his son outside a local grocery store as punishment for cutting corners on his homework. He told the boy he had to walk home. The child had walked the route many times before. “I just wanted to reinforce that money is hard to earn and that, if he doesn’t do a good job at school, he could end up sleeping…[with] the homeless” outside grocery stores, Tang told Reason.tv…
America is suffering from a terrifying syndrome: IHOSFO — It Happened Once, So FREAK OUT. Only IHOSFO explains today’s MSN Headline: Why you should never leave plastic water bottles in a hot car Ok, MSN: Why shouldn’t you do this thing that I’m guessing about 200,000,000 people are doing right now, seeing as it’s August? Because one time the sun hit the water bottle just right, and the bottle + water concentrated the beam of light like a magnifying glass (or, as the reporter says, “like a laser”) and began to burn a hole in the seat. “Experts say” never…
Hi All! I have a friend doing research on bullying. His question(s): Has any minor incident been classified as “bullying” at your school? If so, what was it and how was it dealt with? Frankly, I’m curious too. No one is in favor of bullying. (Note: political discussions are for other blogs!) But neither is anyone in favor of over-reacting to the everyday frustrations and spats that kids can work out on their own. It’s that balance thing again: We don’t want to assume kids are so fragile that they can’t handle any unhappy situations without adult involvement. But not…