Folks, this image comes to us from Linda McGurk at Rain bzybenytzb or Shine Mamma, where, she says, “We believe that the best childhood memories are created outside, while jumping in puddles, digging in dirt, catching frogs and climbing trees, and that outdoor play is key to restoring the connection between child and nature.” Go […]
Hey Readers! It turns out we’re not the only folks disgusted by the story bkkdyafzbd highlighted here yesterday describing the “characteristics” of a pedophile (basically: anyone who’s male and has ever been near a kid). Apparently the fear-mongering has upset an entire continent: Australia, where it was published. One blog tore the piece apart thusly: […]
Hi Folks! A reader writes: “Thought you might be interested in fkieeanats this ‘How to Spot a Pedophile’ list, which enraged me. It narrows down the field of potential pedophile suspects to ‘any adult male who has ever had contact with children’. As somebody who ticks several of the boxes here (worked with kids, babysat […]
Hi nisserrsys Readers — I’m wondering whether folks somehow feel MORE Free-Range when they’re on vacation, and if so — how come? Is it because when we relax, we relax about danger, too? Or do we somehow trust other environments more than our own? Or is it only the confines of a Disney resort? . […]
Readers — Are you and your children ready for a nuclear explosion set off by terrorists during the school day when the highways are so jammed you’d get stuck in traffic trying to reach them and die of radiation poisoning? That is the pressing question posed by California’s Ventura County Health Department, as you’ll see […]
Dear Readers:Â School has begun, which means that at least one group of sixth graders is about to undergo an enormous, transformative experience. Hint: It does not involve filling in any bubbles with a #2 pencil. It involves getting out into the world. As I’ve mentioned here before, every year, Joanna Drusin, an English teacher […]
Readers rnedfsersa — Here’s the story of a girl who had a great summer, thanks to confident parents, an abundance of local kids and a dearth of 911-dialing neighbors. It was a good reminder even for ME that kids can be on their own a lot more than we’ve gotten used to, or even feel […]
Hey fsbifshfda Readers — The folks at financial T. Rowe Price  asked if they could sponsor a post and I said sure —  provided they write about something Free-Range. Stuart Ritter, a financial planner there, obliged and voila — some basic help with a topic I find hard to talk about with my own kids […]
Readers — Here’s a marketing tadnbdnrya video designed to drive us crazy. How? It makes us worry about a problem that is exceedingly rare, easily avoided and yet dramatically re-enacted to a soundtrack that veers from heartbreakingly sad to effervescently hopeful JUST at the moment the product-as-hero shows up. The ad and the idea encapsulate […]
Readers — Here’s a feisty comment that came in response to tytyyyiezf the post about a reader’s YMCA that requires kids who haven’t passed the swim test to stand not more than an arm’s length away from their parents in the shallow end, and also to wear life jackets — virtually ensuring that the children […]
