Readers — It’s Memorial Day in the States, the “unofficial beginning of summer.” Seeing this 2-min video of childhood from Britain in the ’50s, I feel tears going up my nose. How many kids would LOVE going outside and finding a field of friends to play with? And how few do, anymore? Free-Range Kids is […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
How to Start Free-Ranging! (With Help from “Ask Amy”)
Hi Readers — I give you today’s “Ask Amy” column titled, “Kids, sbifsfaryk Like Chicken, Should Be Free-Range.” THANK YOU, AMY! Read her sage advice and then take the Free-Range Kids Challenge of the Weekend: Dear Amy:My wife and I think it might be a good idea to let our 10-year-old son explore the city in which […]
Why Kids SHOULD “Stick a Needle in Their Eye” — at Least Metaphorically
Readers dkytstizrn — This is a letter I got from Chris Byrne, who is always deep and wise about childhood. He was responding to the post about a new, less “scary” rhyme kids have picked up from My Little Pony. Instead of  the age-old “Cross my heart and hope to die/Stick a needle in my […]
“If the Sex Offender List Saves One Child…”
Folks, izahszeekt this guest post addresses a sentiment that really disturbs me — the “one child” idea that is used to justify everything from not allowing kids to walk to school to never letting folks who’ve served their time return to the community as anonymous citizens, same as anyone else. “Shelly Stow” is the pseudonym […]
“It Has Come to Our Attention that the Imaginations of our Preschool Children are Becoming Dangerously Overactive…”
Readers — I do believe the flyer below is real, from a pre-k in Philadelphia. And, for the record, I love when kids make up their own superheroes, not the ones cadged from the media. BUT even I got my witch persona (uh, that is, my childhood dhndhhyzaa witch persona) from The Wizard of Oz. […]
Advice Columnist Tells 14-y.o. She Needs an Older Babysitter Who Can Drive
Readers — Is there anyone in any position of authority who EVER says, “Well, the chances are not 100%Â that your kid will be safe if you do X, but they’re close enough not to worry about them”? If not, maybe that should be my next job: Ask rdtydfrfkd the Free-Ranger. In the meantime, I present […]
UPDATE! Stick A Needle in My Eye? Not Anymore!
Hey Readers — The American Studies major in me can’t get enough of the way language changes with the culture. At my lectures (book ekbehnakak me!) I always point out what someone once noted right here: “Arrival” and “dismissal” at school have morphed into “drop-off” and “pick-up.” Inherent in those new terms is the idea that […]
2013 On Track to LOWEST MURDER RATE IN 100 YEARS!
Readers — Please spread the word, especially to nervous parents: If 2013 keeps going the way it has BEEN going, crime-wise, we are about to experience the szybdynifr LOWEST MURDER RATE SINCE 1906. That’s according to Rick Nevin, an economic consultant and anti-lead activist. (See his chart, below.) THE LOWEST MURDER RATE in OVER A CENTURY? […]
FILL IN THE BLANK: You Know You’re a Free-Range Parent When…
Readers: A note I got yesterday: we raiabdzndt have so called free rangers in our neighborhood. rude, inconsiderate, etc.-their parents do not have a clue where they are or how they act. neither do they care. maybe they got their lazy parenting ideas from your lovely book. hopefully none of your kids will wind up […]
Can Playing Outside Ease ADHD?
Readers — These studies discussed at Inhabitots kztzbsiate seem to support what a lot of us feel in our guts: That outdoor play is probably very key, and taking it away in favor of more “safety” or more “education” has caused us a number of ills. Ironically, our kids are LESS safe (from depression, diabetes, […]