Hi Folks and Merry Christmas, Hanukah and whatever else good is going on. In the spirit of reaching out, creating community and, of course, eating, here’s a great idea I just heard about: The ybkeshffff Big Lunch. Check it out: The Big Lunch is a very simple idea from the Eden Project. The aim is […]
Archive | Creating Community
Free-Range Kid, 11, Attends a Wake…on His Own
Hi Readers: I was just very impressed by this boy’s sense of sorrow, connectedness and respect. While I don’t recommend kids defying their parents’ rules, sometimes, as they say, it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Anyway, here’s kbbssbiktf what I’m talking about, from the MSNBC website: Jared Flanders faced a dilemma Wednesday evening: […]
Occupy Halloween! Hand Out HOMEMADE Treats This Year!
Hi Readers — It occurs to me that maybe the best way to fight Halloween paranoia is with cookies. Start with the fact that there hbhhsfitba has NEVER been a case of children poisoned by a stranger’s candy on Halloween. That’s according to University of Delaware sociologist Joel Best, who has studied the urban myth […]
Travel (with Kids) Advisory
Hi naksfiannd Readers! I am on board with this (even though I am guilty of some of the “don’ts” myself!). The list-maker, Darreby Ambler, is a writer and mother of 3 from Bath, Maine. – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: Thought you might like  this old list I found in a drawer yesterday.  When I read the […]
How to Host a School Picnic (With Almost Zero Planning)
Hi taesydknbe Readers! As you know, one of the things that I believe makes folks feel safer and more ready to Free-Range their kids is COMMUNITY. The more connected we are, the less threatening the “world out there” seems, since “out there” is now familiar, even friendly. That’s why I love the idea of block […]
Passing the Popsicle Test
Hi Readers — How I love nebkzsittb this post by Scot Doyon, “Smart Growth = Smart Parenting,” on a blog called PlaceShakers, which bills itself as “people, news and views shaping community.” As you know, I think community is pretty much the answer to all our ills. The more we trust and depend on each other, […]
Jaycee Dugard’s Take on Overprotective Parents
Hi tkhhitskhh Folks! I am inspired by what a reader named Allison sent me on Facebook. You may be, too. — L Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m reading Jaycee Dugard’s book “A Stolen Life.“Â and in it, she says: It still scares me, the fact that I can’t protect my daughters from everything. What mother wouldn’t want […]
Can’t Argue with Success
Hi dbkkzrkikr Readers! First of all, thank you SO MUCH for the fantastic suggestions on how to help parents get over the fear of BLAME, in the post below this one. Â Here’s one response that I wanted to highlight because I hear you: We need success stories here, too. Enjoy this one! L. Dear Free-Range […]
Remember Leiby Thru “Acts of Lovingkindness” — Statement By His Parents
Hello, Readers: This enbztzsaza is a wonderful thing, this statement by Leiby’s parents, asking the world to remember him by doing good deeds for each other. It doesn’t mention anything about distrusting strangers or men or the  “crazy world” we live in, it is about bringing us together, not apart. Bless them and their son’s memory. […]
How to Start a Neighborhood Camp with Kids as Counselors!
Hi etfbrnntya Readers! This sounds so fun and do-able. Also sounds like it can really change a neighborhood and all the childhoods in it! A huge thanks to Diana and Jennifer for alerting us to their camp and providing all the info  — right down to waivers, flyers and a time sked — of how […]