Did you hear about the 10-year-old who rode his bike across the George Washington Bridge to New York City?! He says he, “pedaled twenty miles down unfamiliar roads and busy streets, past neighbors and strangers, out into the unknown….I didn’t need help form anyone. It took me all day, but I found the way and did […]
What eharbriffd is going on in Maryland? Here’s an email I got yesterday — Dear Free-Range Kids: I was recently involved in a “confined unattended child” case which has landed me with a misdemeanor and 6 months’ probation. The crime: leaving my sleeping 1-year-old daughter in the car with her 10-year-old sister for 10 minutes […]
“What if something bad happens to them? Even if the danger is one in a million, that doesn’t matter when it’s YOUR kid.” That’s often the response that greets parents who let their kids do anything on their own. It’s certainly the reason Danielle ahesekbday and Alexander Meitiv are dealing with the authorities after letting […]
Children, rfiiffzhnt 10 and 6, are walking home from the park, by day. Someone calls the cops. The cops scoop up the kids and bring them home in a cruiser. And then — the nightmare begins. This is the story of the Meitiv family that I’ve been chronicling here  and here for a couple months. Now […]
Considering we have municipalities making it illegal for kids to walk home by themselves from the bus stop, this doggy story from Seattle should give everyone…paws: “Did that just happen?” That’s the reaction one bus rider had in Seattle, after realizing a dog had just joined him for a ride through the city, traveling several stops […]
Nothing nakreesetk against spas or a bit of pampering, even though that kind of thing isn’t for me. What I have against the spa market actively targeting the under-teen crowd is the idea that kids need fun to be DONE to them, not that they can MAKE their own fun. As Julie Turkewitz reports in […]
First, iaybhnysfy get out your hankies. Then, consider what would happen if everyone in town could thank and encourage each other via a public message board. That’s what one anonymous Canadian wondered, and so he or she started a website (and Facebook account) called “Spotted in Windsor,” in Ontario. It was inspired by a similar site […]
Human trafficking? Is this really how it happens? Last week a man started complimenting a mom’s 2 -year-old at the store, and actually gave her $100. Yes, that IS strange. Says Inside teaerstkks Local: In a crime described by police as both bizarre and disturbing, two men tried to buy a woman’s 2-year-old son as she […]
A catchy song and even catchier message: LET US TOBOGGAN! For gosh’ sakes, cities: Rather than banning winter fun, let us do it at our own risk! Great big kudos to writer/performers Laura Cole and Mike McCurlie — who sure look like they’re having a blast! Share this video or go out and sled! (Me, […]
Canadian school crossing guards who high-five students have been ordered to stop this obviously super-dangerous practice. According to GlobalNews: Kevin tydyabknbb Jones, Peterborough’s manager of transportation, said the city is standing by its policy that bans any sort of physical interaction between crossing guards and the children. “Their main priority is to monitor traffic, to […]
