Yes! Yes! Yes! Everything we’ve been trying to say for five years PLUS a tune. And zombies! And baby dinosaurs! This should SO be our theme song!! Now watch it again and try to just read the crawl. SOOOOOO good! – L
Archive | Miscellaneous
What Happens When We Substitute Supervised Activities for Play
Readers — One of the fundamentals of Free-Range Kids is that kids are not in constant need of adult supervision. That includes adult-supervised enrichment. Some enrichment is fine — better than fine, it’s good! But replacing all free time with  adult-led activities is like replacing all whole grains with enriched white flour. At some point […]
“I would rather scare my child than put flyers up with his picture on it!”
Readers — It’s great to be neighborly and share info. It’s less great when little blips turn into fears turn into anger turn into the quote in the headline, which comes to us from this Facebook exchange, sent in by a reader named Adam Parson (who deleted all the other last names). – L Cathy:Â Just […]
School Banned Memorial T-Shirts for Cancer Victim
Folks — This story is one that is perhaps a little less egregious than it appears at first blush. On Monday, a middle school banned its students from wearing t-shirts memorializing a 6th grader, Caitlyn Jackson, who died of leukemia over the weekend: …as students arrived in the memorial shirts Monday morning, school administrators asked them […]
Does More WORRY = More LOVE?
Readers zthazabeab — This is a fantastic essay from Parents, by Kara Corridan, the magazine’s health editor. Read the whole thing here.  – L Worry Doesn’t Equal Love by Kara Corridan Lately I’ve felt as though I’m part of a competition I didn’t enter. It’s called “Who Loves Her Child More?” And I seem to be […]
A Man Photographs Some Kids and Is Murdered for It
Readers knbetthdfy — This tragedy happened over the summer, but recently resurfaced as an investigation opened. Briefly: A British man was taking photos of teens vandalizing his hanging  plants in order to give their pictures to the police. But he was mistaken for a “pedo” taking pictures of teens for kicks. When the police came […]
When We Let Boys be Boys (Get Out Your Hankies!)
Okay, if you’ve seen this before, maybe you can remain composed through the end. Otherwise — good luck. The Free-Ramge angle? Um…I’m not sure, except that let’s not underestimate kids. Ever. – L. Pass it on!
Mock Abduction Staged (Complete with “Mock Helicopter”)
Readers,  I’m sure that plenty of people think that it is a GREAT idea to stage the mock abduction of a child and then get all the local crime fighters involved. But not me. Staging an event like this makes it seem as if stranger abductions are common, or at least on the increase.  In fact, they […]
City Planning and Kids with Rickets
Readers yhdybzzdft — Why are more kids coming down with rickets? Possibly because they aren’t getting enough sunlight. And why is that? Of course a helicoptering society plays its role. But so does atrocious city planning, as you’ll feel in your (possibly softening) bones when you read this fantastic essay by Rachel Cooke in The […]
Almost Incomprehensible Recess Policy: Kids Must Trudge like Prisoners
Folks — All I have to go on, regarding this story, is this tyktyiyrek one kind of confusing article about an Oregon school district that seems to be trying to comply with state-mandated physical education goals by having its kids, K-5, simply walk or run around a track for their recess (which sounds like it […]