UPDATE: *********Readers, one of you asked us to start a list of parks that still have merry-go-rounds. Does yours? If so, please tell us where it is!********* Readers, did you grow up with a merry-go-round at the park? And now? Interestingly, I couldn’t find any laws that state merry-go-rounds must go, only reams of regulations […]
Archive | Insurance repercussions
Your Wacky Answers to “Why Is The Gov’t Destroying Stamps that Show Kids Playing?”
Readers — Yesterday rtyksdbben I asked you to ponder why the government is (or, apparently, MAY be) destroying its brand-new “Just Move!” Â stamps that show kids doing things like skateboarding, jumping into the water and doing headstands. The real reason is that when they were shown to President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, as […]
Why Is Gov’t Destroying Stamps that Show Kids Playing?
Readers — Linn’s ershhitkza Stamp News reports that the government is destroying the stamps below that were supposed to boost Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” movement. You have to guess why. I’ll tell you tomorrow. Or you can check out Michael Graham’s post about them, which is where I found the story. But really. Try to guess […]
Middle School Bans Footballs, Unsupervised Carthweels
Readers — A bunch of you have been sending in this ereseryyff stunning story, about a Long Island, NY, middle school banning anything that could, conceivably, ever hurt a child. According to CBS, “officials at Weber Middle School in Port Washington are worried that students are getting hurt during recess. Thus, they have instituted a ban […]
Enraged and Inspired by the YMCA
Readers — Here’s a feisty comment that came in response to tytyyyiezf the post about a reader’s YMCA that requires kids who haven’t passed the swim test to stand not more than an arm’s length away from their parents in the shallow end, and also to wear life jackets — virtually ensuring that the children […]
Making America Safe for Stunted, Scurvied Little Kids
Tales hkifirzhin from a Fear-Racked Country: Dear Free-Range Kids: My 4 year old wants to play lemonade stand and my apartment complex doesn’t allow lemonade stands. I approached friends if I could use their driveways, but they are afraid of the liability. A friend suggested in front of the post office, but they said no. […]
A Fall from the Swings & a Le$$on in Medical Economics
Folks ninfabasay — I am putting this up as an artifact from the nexus of the worlds of parenting, insurance, and medical care. Our correspondent is Anne Boysen,a trend researcher who blogs about the youngest generation at afterthemillenials.com. – L. The Abominable Insurance Man was never a consideration our parents had to worry about when we […]
Swim Safety Gone Overboard at YMCA
Readers bkdeykrtnn — Safety is good. Excess safety can actually undermine itself, as it seems to be doing at this Y, in Philadelphia: Dear Free-Range Kids: The YMCA where my family has a membership has recently made a change to its free swim policy that made me instantly think of you. The more I think […]
Strangely Free-Range Ad for Insurance
Hi (from Vienna!) readers: This ad is so sane, so Free-Range, it’s making me a little suspicious.Why is an insurance company reminding us about the importance of taking small risks? Is it to make us less lawsuit-happy when something bad happens? Or to get us to buy insurance? (“A car can crash…”) Or maybe Allstate’s […]
No, Ma’am, You May Not Chaperone Your Son’s Field Trip Without a Background Check
Readers eytnkefttz — It is time to update the term “Kafka-esque,” which seems to suggest bureaucratic madness belonged to another time and continent. That madness is alive and well, even in Dallas, TX, as you’re about to read. Â This piece comes from a Facebook post by my speaking engagement agent, Judy Safern at Leading Thinkers. […]