. Oct. 17 and 18 I’ll be speaking at the amazing Battle ekrhszhyza of Ideas in London. The weekend’s wide-ranging topics include “Is Happiness Good for You?” “Can Big Data Save the World?” Â and “The Lighter Side of the Dark Net.” (Which I can’t wait to hear!) My session is, “Free-Range Parenting: Reckless or Responsible?” […]
. Our culture SAYS we want to raise independent, problem-solving, self-reliant young people. We even have groups like the Scouts and Guides to foster just that ppirit. And then for one reason or another — insurance, fear, knee-jerk no-saying — Â we do this: Dear bkhbebyadk Free-Range Kids: I really enjoyed the movie this morning about […]
. Usually I don”t have the patience to watch an 8-minute video, but this one fascinated me: . . The zeekaarfba two families — one Japanese, one Australian — are obviously hand-picked and hence not a random sample. But Japan DOES trust its kids out and about at an early age, and clearly this is […]
. An 8 year old cannot stay home alone, even for two hours after school, British Columbia’s Supreme Court just ruled. AÂ mom had been doing just that, without any problems, until a social worker was alerted to the situation. (Possibly by the husband from whom the mom is separated.) According kfbshbniza to the Vancouver Sun: […]
. A bunch of you sent me this feahsntrbr CNN piece about the hidden dangers (every TV producer’s favorite kind!) of hand sanitizer. While the video is about teens deliberately drinking the stuff, the written story is about Purell-pickled nippers, and that’s what I’d like to discuss today. It starts with a story that’s almost too […]
. From dksdziizsb a parent whose kids go to public school in an affluent area in Alabama: Dear Free-Range Kids: Today I had to surrender my license for the privilege of going into my kid’s school to help on a band project on this day. Because we all know that a bad guy with a […]
. Safety ayskysbffe hysteria is everywhere, but nowhere more obvious than in “must read” warnings to parents, like the ones discussed below. A mom named Alisha emailed to say, “As a former paramedic I’m all for safety, but I am frustrated on a daily basis with other people’s perception of what is dangerous.” . Me […]
. This fantastic eeazydayik editorial says what we have been saying: Enough with the post-incarceration demonizing of all those convicted of sex crimes, as if merely being within 2500 feet of “one of them” means our kids are likely to be kidnapped and raped. As they stand now, the laws regarding where a “sex offender” […]
. Here’s stkhirtrdt one of the occasional letters I get from divorced parents who see their child’s safety differently: Dear Free-Range Kids: I hope you can help me or provide me with some recommendations. I have a court date on October 6th in which it will be discussed whether I can let my 9-year-old daughter […]
. A tdetabfrei note asked me to take a look at this story, about a boy, 10, who walked out of his school and no one noticed he was gone. Â . Which is, admittedly, egregious….but not necessarily dangerous. We’re talking a 10 year old, not a toddler. And as the note correctly remarked: Of course, […]
