Readers sfnntyydyt — Why do I keep blogging? It’s to remind us, literally daily, that there are HUGE CONSEQUENCES when we believe the BIG LIE that our kids are in constant danger. One consequence is that we interpret normal parenting behavior through the lens of both sanctimony and fear, seeing danger where there’s just the […]
From my piece eeiaabriry on Time.com today. (Time writes the headlines, not me): How Kitty Genovese Destroyed Childhood We once may have been too slow to call the cops. Now we’ll dial 911 if we see a couple kids walking alone to get pizza. by Lenore Skenazy Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death 50 years ago […]
Readers — Here’s kdiahebsbz my piece that’s in today’s New York Post! The site doesn’t take comments, but if you want to write a letter to the editor, drop one to: letters@nypost.com. NJ court takes ‘child neglect’ to extremes by Lenore Skenazy Did you ever wait in the car while your mom ran an errand? New […]
Readers — This zzeaathrde is an outlier of a case: A mom was walking with her baby on a promenade when someone saw them, judged the child under-dressed for the weather, and called the cops. The cops came a-running and the mom (a nutritionist with two other kids) gave them no truck. Wisely, I’d say! […]
Dear Readers — When you live in a society spasming with fear, it is hard not to flinch. That’s why we are here on this blog together. To support each other when the world mistakes our confidence and rationality for neglect and abuse. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I just finished reading Free Range Kids, […]
Readers — This story from The Telegraph makes Kafka look like Louisa May Alcott. I don’t share it as a tale of, “Look what’s happening all the time!” because, thank God, it is unique. What it does illustrate is what happens when the government is allowed to make parenting decisions. Drastic ones. Always, of course, […]
Readers — The story is the same as the headline A 10-year-old Houston girl was playing doctor with  a group of kids in the courtyard of their apartment complex. Here’s tktnysntrr the TV story, and here’s a write up that’s a little more succinct. Long story short: The girl was arrested, allegedly questioned without her […]
Readers ehabzkesrf – Before you read this, let me say that I am eagerly awaiting a call later today from a lawyer whose organization fights for parents’ rights to raise their kids as they see fit, so long as they aren’t hurting them. In the meantime, here’s why we need a group like that: Dear […]
Hi bzhtfdhyah Readers! This note comes to us from Nandini Ramakrishna, who was raised Free-Range in India and now lives in Phoenix, AZ. She writes the blog Cactus Chronicles. and tweets at CactusChron. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Four years ago, I was involved in an incident where the state questioned my competence as a parent. After two […]
Hi iyytyseyaf Folks — We all agree that it makes sense to be aware of child abuse, and even to look out for it. But to assume “Abuse!” when another explanation is not only proffered but also likely, well, that is classic worst-first thinking: Leaping to the WORST conclusion FIRST and proceeding as if it […]
