One of the reasons many of us end up supervising our kids so much today is that when we DO watch our kids’ every messy interaction, we see so much more than our own parents ever saw, and are shocked and dismayed. So we stay closer to monitor more, which means we see MORE frustrating-but-normal […]
This bhdykrktfd past Sunday I held a “Sex Offender Brunch.†Doesn’t everyone? A few days later a reporter from Salon called me up to ask about it. So here’s an excerpt from what I told her. And here’s my piece in the NY Daily News also about the brunch. (This story is lasting as long […]
. This eytasrkfhs story is sickeningly sad, but the original verdict made it intensely worse. A reader writes: Marta Corvi was grateful when the Juarez family in Dallas, Georgia, told her she could live with them until she found a job. All she had to do in exchange was cook, clean, and watch their 5 […]
The mom who Twitters as Mainline Housewife (mainlinewife) nhrfndnetd sends us proof that we can never underestimate the how far our obsession over child safety can go: But wait — this doesn’t even require a notary?
. A etyyfreifn reader writes: Dear Lenore: My ex father in law is in the hospital. Yesterday we went to a park in Hackensack [NJ] and Elizabeth 6 was having fun and I was cold so I was sitting in the car watching sort of. Elizabeth knew she could come to the car anytime. I […]
What happens when a generation grows up being told that they need constant supervision because nothing is safe enough? That they should never encounter a bad grade or mean remark, it’s too wounding? That they didn’t lose, they are the “8th place winner!”? At least a slice of them become convinced that they are extremely […]
. Gracious diiddktaby me! This brand of yarn can unravel! Have you ever heard of such a thing? It’s just too scary! How irresponsible can a yarn maker be? No wonder the Consumer Product Safety Commission just issued this dire warning: Name of Product: Bernat Tizzy Yarn Hazard:Â In finished knit or crochet items, the yarn […]
. An unhappy commenter gives us this link to the picture of a missing 17 year old  — http://www.missingkids.com/poster/NCMC/1244645 sffkdkisti  — and writes, in response to our urging the police not to arrest parents who let their kids play outside unsupervised: tell the parents of this child. And the thousands more missing ” ITS OK […]
I ddakhfrrtd suppose this is happening all over, this excessive testing, checking and hounding of anyone who, God forbid, wants to work with — or even nearby — kids. This letter comes to us from a 30ish YMCA volunteer in Ontario: . Dear Free-Range Kids:Â I’ve been attending our local YMCA for longer than I can […]
Everyone else has posted about this Oklahoma City bathroom sign, so I guess it’s time for me to weigh in, too: Are 6-year-old boys too old to be dragged into the ladies room? I don’t come down hard and fast because of course there can always be extenuating circumstances — a boy with special needs, […]
