Long story short: A dad returning from Mexico with his 3-year-old daughter who has lighter skin than his is suspected of sex trafficking her. (And not to pile on, but it was a nfzrkhkitr United flight.) Despite papa having her passport, his passport, AND a notarized letter from the mom saying that she gave them her permission to travel, the authorities felt compelled to act upon a “tip” — a tip that was nothing more than a passenger’s hunch fueled by the hysteria of the moment: That 3-year-olds are being trafficked right and left in the USA. As the mom,…
Author: lskenazy
A few days ago a man in Winnipeg walked up to a lemonade stand run by five kids and gave them five $20 bills. He also handed them a card of his. Here’s how it unfolded in the press. Toby McCrae, mom of one of the l’il lemonade entrepreneurs, heard from her son that: “‘He gave $20 to each of us and he told us we could learn to not pay taxes,'” said McCrae. “I said, ‘That’s really weird.'” Along with five $20 bills, the man also handed the boys a business card for an anti-tax website promising to educate…
This is a story you probably already heard with a heavy heart: A North Carolina boy, 5, and his family were visiting a rotating restaurant in Atlanta: The boy had wandered away from his family but was only a few feet from their table when the accident happened. “Somehow, the child became lodged between the wall and a table as the dining area rotated,” Atlanta Police Officer Stephanie Brown told Buzzfeed News. He died of his injuries. So outrageously sad. Can you guess what the chorus of commenters is saying? If you can’t, perhaps this whole “internet” thing is new…
This oped in today’s New York Times is important: The Wrong Way to Keep Kids Safe From Predators By MICHELLE STEVENS My heart is racing as he kisses my cheek. “Bye, Mom,” he says. Then he grabs his backpack and walks away. I want to snatch him back. I’ll settle for puking instead. It’s the summer of 2015, and my baby is going off to camp. It’s 3,000 miles away. It’s his first time flying on a plane by himself. When he gets to the other side, a stranger will pick him up and drive him to the Poconos. To…
Yesterday I posted a video of Mike Tang, the dad sentenced to 56 days’ labor for making his son walk home a mile to teach him not to slack off on his homework. Some of you have asked if there’s a way to contribute to Mike’s defense fund. Here is what he wrote: Thanks. I am at this point, refusing a lawyer, and all donations. It’s not a matter of how much the fine is, or the cost of the lawyer, as much as the notion that it shouldn’t come to this. . If the fine was 2 cents…
You’ll recall the case of Mike Tang, the California chemist who made his son Isaac, age 8, walk home a mile at night to teach him a lesson: Keep cutting corners on your homework and you could end up not HAVING a home. Of course someone saw the child outside alone and called 911. The police came, and Mike was jailed for the night. Eventually he stood trial, and the arresting officer testified that not only did he find Mike’s choice of discipline criminally dangerous, he (the cop) wouldn’t even let his own daughter, age 20, walk home at night.…
Welcome to America, 2017, where it requires an act of bicameral legislation to even CONSIDER allowing children the teeniest modicum of self-sufficiency: In Washington State, the House just passed a bill that would allow students to use sunscreen at school without a doctor’s note. It’s like open carry, but for Coppertone. In an article titled, “Lawmakers consider allowing sunscreen in schools” by the Associated Press, the Tri-City Herald reports …The Democratic-controlled [House] unanimously passed the measure Monday and it now heads to the Republican-controlled Senate for concurrence. Right now, students must have a prescription or note from a licensed health…
Recognizing the chilling effect a successful lawsuit against a school could have, a judge in Dublin denied payment to a family whose child had fallen and broken her arm during a schoolyard game of chase. As reporter Ray Managh wrote in The Independent: Games of chase in school yards throughout the country could not be prohibited, the President of the Circuit Civil Court, Mr Justice Raymond Groarke, ruled today Monday. “I just cannot accept the proposition that they should,” he told barrister Adrianne Fields who successfully defended a €38,000 damages claim taken against a school on behalf of a six-year-old…
Here’s another viral video people are sharing — a short and actually kind of impressive lesson by a girl showing how to escape from a zip tie, “In case you ever get kidnapped.” Except…kids don’t need to KNOW how to escape from a zip tie. They are not going to be zip tied. Making them think about it is kind of like inserting a horror movie in their hearts: “Hey honey, don’t worry if the bad man snatches you, because you’ll know how to get out of zip ties if that’s what he uses to tie you up and not,…
Last week, Arkansas voted on the very first Free-Range Kids and Parents Bill of Rights. Oh, it wasn’t called that. Nonetheless, the proposed law would have ended “neglect” investigations of parents who simply let their children play outside, walk to school, wait in the car for under 15 minutes in temperate conditions, or come home as a latchkey kid. If the parents were otherwise neglectful or abusive, of course, the state was allowed to probe. But if the parents simply trusted their kids with a little independence, the worry that they could face charges would be lifted. The bill was…