Hi sifhkkniba Readers! I’m dashing off to give a talk tonight (Thurs.) at the Ethel Walker school in Simsbury, Conn. (outside of Hartford). It’s free and open to the public, if you’re in the nabe. Â Meantime, let’s help this California mom! Any advice? Support? Great ideas? — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I recently lost my […]
Archive | Infantilizing young folk
Child Predators Love Polite Kids?
Hi Readers: So here’s a “helpful” article on how to keep our kids safe from predators. It cites the oft-repeated notion that when we make our kids hug or kiss relatives, the kids get the message that from now on they must submit to any and all skeevy and revolting requests adults make of them. […]
A Real “Take Our Kids to Work Day” Safety Memo
Hi Readers! Today is officially “Take Our Sons & Daughters to Work Day.” And here is an official memo from one reader’s employer: Parents itdnsazyab are cautioned to be mindful of the safety of their children and limit their exposure at work to job-shadowing which could include: permitting the young observers to attend a meeting, […]
Outrage of the Week: Pet Shop Owner Fined for Selling Kid a Goldfish
Hi Readers — You read that headline right. Apparently in England it is now illegal to sell a pet to anyone under age 16 who is not accompanied by an adult. (England? Are you feeling okay? Something bump you in the head?) Anyway — this nasssnefne granny did! And she was fined 1000 pounds (about […]
Help! How Can Mom Explain She is Raising Independent (Not Neglected) Kids?
Hi snaytsahnf Readers! This mom needs some great ideas in how to deal with friends, neighbors — and PASTOR — who equate “Free-Range” with NEGLECT. Let’s give her some strategies! — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: My nine-year-old, eight-year-old and five-year-old have been walking to school alone for a couple of months now. The walk is […]
Keeping Score — Literally (And a Song!!!)
Hi Readers! A friend just wrote to tell me he was dismayed to learn that at his local grammar school the kids play soccer but don’t keep score. Why not? Because this way, “Everybody wins.” Or nobody wins, of course.  If  losing a schoolyard soccer game is too traumatizing for kids, imagine what’ll happenwhen they […]
Outrage of the Week, Cont’d: Kids in Developing Country Doing Better Science!
Hi Folks — Here’s an update zynzdfhezz from Bree, the Boulder, Colo., mom who sent in her daughter’s No-Science at the Science Fair rules (see post below). Turns out Bree’s parents are living in Myanmar (formerly Burma, as in Shave, as in something you do with a sharp object that children should never get anywhere near) […]
Outrage of the Week: Science Fair Bans Most Science
Hi Folks! Here’s zbiiirstez the latest — a brilliant Chinese plot to crush America’s lead in science and technology! Oh wait. Seems it is just one Colorado school’s list of  science fair rules. Thanks, reader Bree, for sending it in. The list: For safety: Project displays and posters may NOT contain any of the following: NO: Organisms […]
This Kid Sounds Like Me! Or, Rather, Like Us!
Hi Readers! Love this note from a middle-schooler! Dear hkrfsifdfh Free-Range Kids:Â I am a 13-year-old and I really think that kids need more freedom. I regularly ride my bike to the library and friends’ houses, but for going longer distances and using public transportation my parents would like me to have a friend with me. […]
“Dangerism” — How A Society Decides What’s Dangerous
Hi Readers! Many of you are already familiar with Gever Tulley, the guy who runs the Tinkering School and did the famous TED speech on the “5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Kids Do.” (Recently expanded into a book, “Fifty Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do.”) Now he’s come up with a […]