Readers — Here’s a case I’m very curious about, because I truly don’t know how I’d react. First — the news report: And tzrzkbzhtd here’s a note I got about the story: Dear Free-Range Kids: It is so refreshing to have a rational place to reaffirm my instincts, that we are not living in a […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
“Neuroscience Says ________ Will Harm Your Kids!”
Readers, Here’s an infuriating, reassuring piece (first one, then the other) by Laura satdizkddk Flores Shaw in the Huffington Post: “Stop Using Neuroscience to Scare Parents.” It reminds me of my book‘s chapter, “Relax! Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact on Your Child’s Development!” In this essay, Shaw is reacting to a Time […]
The Problem with “Predators”
Readers sfayrbeftz — When I was growing up, I knew what predators were: Lions, hawks, sharks…. Now animals come to mind only distantly when we hear that word, and that has changed our outlook on crime, childhood, safety — and parenting. This musing comes to us from the commenter signed worthdoinganyway:Â Dear Free-Range Kids: I […]
Tied Up in Baby Sling Regulations
Readers — Here’s a piece from Tasha Batsford, “a working mama of three small children,” who writes about her parenting journey at www.maybediaries.com. dttarfzket She lives in New Zealand. The Downfall of The Baby Sling by Natasha Batsford For millennia, women the world over have been taking the fabric at their disposal and using it […]
The Outrageously Short Poem that Could Change Your Life (Or Your Kids’)
Readers — Here’s a poem to keep in your pocket…forever. It came to me by way of Bob Weiman, director of the lower school/assistant head of school at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes in Alexandria, VA: COME nzansdhndn TO THE EDGE, by Christopher Logue Come to the edge. We might fall. Come to the edge. […]
“Children Photographed without Consent,” Cops Say. Uh…So?
Readers — Once again cops hbzbhnhrfy have been called to the scene of a tragic crime: Some children were photographed in a water park by a man. Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t quite tragic. No one was hurt at all. And it wasn’t actually not a crime. In fact, you could call it a NON-EVENT. […]
Did Oprah Make Us Terrified for Our Kids?
Readers isiyizadfe — This is idea that someone should write their doctorate on. Dear Free-Range Kids: During the height of this summer’s “hot car” hysteria, I found your website and it was like a lightbulb went off. All the common sense I have stifled in the interest of being a “good mom” has a voice! […]
Is “No Stairs” a New Trend?
Readers — Sometimes when I am trying to explain why the fbbiasfnee laws against letting kids wait in the car a few minutes make no sense, I point out that if we are going to prosecute parents for putting their kids at some infinitesimal risk, we’d also have to include all parents who raise their […]
How to Shame a Parent
Readers yfbshnifkn — Here are two comments on the post below this one, about a mom leaving her son, 7, at home for half an hour: It is absolutely irresponsible to leave a child age 5,6,7 even 8 at home alone. That is just lazy parenting. You leave them because it is not convenient for […]
Mom Lets Son, 7, Stay Home Alone 30 Minutes and “The Doctors” Weigh In
Readers — Let’s hear it for Lizzie Heiselt, the MotherRunner eeetsdzrtn blogger who wrote about letting her son, 7, stay home while she ran an errand. She took heat for the usual “What if…?”s but stayed calm and fantastically poised on The Doctors, a show that sometimes sneers at helicopter parenting and sometimes sneers at […]