. The New anrhtzzene York Times article on Playborhood, the open-to-all playground that Silicon Valley entrepreneur Mike Lanza organized on his front and back lawns, continues to elicit a ton of comments and commentary. Here’s what Lanza wrote on his own Facebook page. And here’s a post by Tim Gill, the British visionary who blogs […]
Archive | Infantilizing young folk
Happy Birthday, Formerly Curious George
. When Curious George was born 75 years ago this month, his German Jewish parents, H.A. and Margaret Rey, were fleeing the Nazis. They took George with them, in the form of a manuscript. As Alison adnrssenkz Lobron notes in The Boston Globe: Three generations children have grown up with Curious George, who celebrates his 75th […]
Stop Your Kid From Making Out — Remotely
. This Buick ad is airing on the Olympics. It’s about a tracker for kids old enough to drive (the Buick). It shows a mom and dad realizing that their at-least-16-year-old daughter has parked on Lover’s Lane. Yikes! As the Taliban would say: Let us stop this whoring spawn of Satan! But, being Americans, they […]
To Sign Out My Tweens I Must Show a Sticker That Matches Theirs
. Dutifully documenting the end of human trust and common sense, I give you this: Dear kizaehdfyn Free-Range Kids: I love my Church, but I was really turned off by this new policy: “To date, we have allowed students to check themselves out of the Tweenz class rather than requiring a parent to pick them […]
School Bans Clapping. Kids May Wriggle, Punch the Air and Show “Excited Faces”
. Elanora Heights, a public school in Sydney, Australia, has banned clapping out of “respect” for noise-sensitive students. Instead, kids can “conduct a silent cheer.” Woo hoo! Sorry… I mean (I am waving my hands in the air in front of my laptop while grinning excitedly). As The zshthsebez Herald Sun reports: In its July 18 […]
You Are Neither Old Enough — Nor Young Enough — to Enter LEGOLAND Alone
. Here are the admission berhfddnaa rules for Toronto’s LEGOLAND: Please note: Children 17 and under must be accompanied by an adult supervisor 18 years of age or older. Adults (18+) will not be admitted without a child, with the exception of Adult Only Nights. So when you are 17 and 364 days old, you […]
“16 is the Appropriate Age to Allow Children to Be Outside by Themselves” — New Albany, Ohio, Police Chief
. The ytteineern New Albany, OH, chief of police is advising parents not to let their kids go outside on their own until they are 16. According to this piece on News10: New Albany’s police chief wants parents to understand that kids younger than 16 simply cannot defend themselves against an attacker. Chief Greg Jones […]
School to Child: We Will Carry that Shovel For You
. Think of our proud founding fathers, the Minutemen who ran in from the fields to wage a revolution. These were ordinary people entrusted to win the freedom of an entire country, accustomed as they were to toiling, being tested, and rising to the occasion. Here’s how we breed that out of our kids: Dear […]
UPDATE: School Bans Blowing Whistle to End Recess — Too Loud and Scary For Kids
. Readers, the weekend has gotten away from me, so let me simply post this dhzysitdby article from The Independent, reporting that a school has stopped teachers from blowing whistles at the end of recess because the “aggressive” noise could scare some children: St Monica’s Catholic Primary School in Milton Keynes has said instead of […]
Dear Prudence: I’m Scared That My 4-year-old Is 20 Ft Away from the Adult With Her!
. Let’s hear it for Mallory hzryrahehy Ortberg, who, like her “Dear Prudence” predecessor Emily Yoffe, is a wonderful advice giver. In fact, she’s so wonderful that I have to include the entire Free-Range question she just got, and her wise — restrained — answer. Also, let me put in a pitch for Mallory’s book, […]