. As we say in our house all the time, “Go Dog, Go!” as in hooray and carry on: Dear znbersdyit Lenore, I was newly married but still childless when my little brother sent me the article you wrote about letting your son ride the subway alone. I was living in my home state of Montana, […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
The Simpons’ Season Finale: Marge Jailed for Letting Bart Play at Park Unsupervised!
. Readers, one of you must be good at figuring out where to find the latest Simpsons’ episode, legally. (We have plenty of people in my home who can do it the other way.) If/when you do, please share its embed code. But until that date, here is a synopsis of last night’s season finale. […]
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 […]
Without Some Risk, Playgrounds Bore Kids
. How do you get kids back outside — and, incidentally, revitalize narcoleptic neighborhoods? You bring in risk. This zktriizthe New Zealand playground was designed to give kids a lot more “wheee” — or maybe “aghhh!” — for the buck. More than 6000 children contributed to the early stages of the playground’s development through the BNZ […]
Graduates Asked to “Mime” Throwing Caps in Air, for Safety’s Sake
. Law school students at Britain’s University of East Anglia have been told not to throw their mortarboards in the air upon  graduating — it’s just too dangerous. Instead, they are being asked to “mime” the gleeful tossing, with the caps to be Photoshopped in later, for an added fee of about $12. I szsdknaerb […]
Take Our Children To the Park…and Leave Them There Day: THIS SATURDAY, MAY 21!
. This Saturday will be our sixth annual Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day. That means I have six other blog posts explaining it. Allow me the favor of reprinting one of them, here: Yes nhyzdtzstn folks, this Saturday is international Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There Day, […]
It Used to be Lonely for Kids INSIDE. Now It’s the Reverse
. This post comes from Mollie Shaw, a friend, frequent commenter, and Free-Ranger who is a writer and marketing consultant in British Columbia. Maybe it will resonate for you the way it did for me: Dear idhenrhyeh Free-Range Kids:Â I can remember feeling lonely as a young child in the 1970s. Â I have vivid recollections of […]
Julie Gunlock: “Let Parents Decide If They Want their Kids to Wait in the Car”
. Wow. I’m so impressed by Julie Gunlock standing her, well, guns, when talk show hosts try to suggest she might have done something wrong letting rbattefbyn her three sons (9,7 and 5) wait in the car while she got a rotisserie chicken. Poise, compassion and common sense are going to win this! – L […]
Resisting the Urge to Rant (About Kids Watching a Computer Screen While On the Trampoline)
. Because I understand that different generations have fun in different ways — I myself did not grow up whittling, for instance, nor have I ever played marbles — I solemnly swear not to say, “Can’t kids play for THREE SECONDS even on something as joyful as a TRAMPOLINE without needing a COMPUTER SCREEN to […]
Finland’s Genius Idea: More Free Time for Kids
. If you look back on your childhood and what you did in your free time, the thing that you LOVED to do just may still be part of your life. In fact, please tell us stories of that — the thread from your childhood interest or obsession to your current work (or obsession). Me, […]