Readers ftyrsbztek — If you wonder why kids aren’t outside as much anymore, maybe it’s time to consider all the helpful safety tips we get.  Here are some from the New Jersey’s Star Ledger’s “46 Ways to Have a Safer NJ Summer.” (For more, see my piece at Reason.) “If you see a bear while out […]
Worth iathinkith reading, and even bringing to your next PTA meeting: Dear Free-Range Kids: I felt compelled to write you a little note, today, as I have a confession to make. For the past two years, I’ve been in charge of the picnic at my son’s school, here in Winnipeg. Last year, I followed the […]
Readers — Is it a crime for parents to trust strangers?  Apparently, it is: A eehisydsfr mom in suburban Atlanta was looking for a way to get her son to Florida to visit his grandma. So she hired a driver she found on Craigslist advertising a rideshare. When the driver learned his intended co-pilot was only 9 […]
Folks ifzbthzeea — This is an area I have no expertise in. Can those of you who have adopted, or know about the process, help out? Thanks! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve noticed we have some adoptive parents in this crowd. I would really like to adopt, but I am concerned about dealing with […]
Hi ksethyitba Readers! This is from the mom of four in Canada who wrote about the fear of “dry drowning” last week. Today, a new peeve that peeves me, too. Dear Free-Range Kids: As seen around Facebook lately, sales of the ProTecht BodyGuard blanket have, in the words of the manufacturer, already “far exceeded our wildest […]
From nhznntzihs my inbox: Hey Lenore! I came across a product the other day in my Facebook feed and I was curious about your opinion and your readers’. It’s basically a wearable GPS device for tracking your kids. My first impression was a big eye roll. But then we had a situation this weekend that […]
Readers thynfhaatt — This is the holy grail of summer activity guides! It’s on the site Scary Mommy, and it begins: 10 Ways to Give Your Kid a 1970’s Kind of Summer by Melissa L. Fenton Summer’s basically here. The Pinterest pages, Facebook feeds, and family magazine features are loaded up with all the fun-filled activities you should do […]
Found tbtsytreiz this in the comments, by lollipoplover: On finding an [unsupervised] 18 month-old child:At both my mom and dad’s funerals, one of our old neighbors, Mrs. P, shared her “How I met your Mother” story.Her family had just moved in down the street. The movers were unloading furniture and Mrs. P was unpacking her […]
Readers zhreakhhyr — This mom notices a continuum I’d missed! – L. Dear Free Range Kids: Lately I have noticed 2 trends that I believe relate to helicoptering. My son will be 5 in late July. The cutoff in our state for Kindergarten is “age 5 prior to August 1.â€Â My son has been screened […]
What inakrerydf a great piece by Michael Brendan Dougherty in The Week (a magazine for which I created and ran the weekly humor contest for three years till they took it in house. But I guess that’s neither here nor there.) Dougherty starts out noting the Salon story, wherein a mom let her son wait in the […]
