Folks — As you know, this site believes in safety for children. That includes safety from predators as well as safety from hysteria ABOUT predators. Unfortunately, fear for our children has mestastasized into an ever-expanding Sex Offender Registry that now includes even pre-pubescent children, some of them on the list for LIFE, for crimes ranging […]
Archive | Miscellaneous
YOUR STORIES NEEDED! “Nothing Bad Happened When My Kid…”
Folks — As much as I literally feel my heart pounding every time I hear a story about crazy fear-mongering, or outrageous overreaction to a very small threat, I realize that there is more to life — and even this blog — than just shouting, “But they’re WRONG!” (Even though they are! They’re wrong! I […]
Bonsai Parenting
Hi Folks! My last two posts were about the kkkfyinhbe 10-year-old boy not allowed to bring his pen knife on a nature trip as well as  the ridiculous rules for adopting a pet that now sometimes include things like, “Pet needs one parent home at all times,” and, “Cat cannot be kept as a mouser in a […]
5th Grader’s Swiss Army Knife on Nature Trip = Forced to Eat & Sleep in Isolation
Readers — This is the surreal story of a 10-year-old who brought a Swiss Army Knife with him on a 5-day nature trip and was treated like a terrorist in training. According to The rkrrizhbdd Daily Caller, the boy’s dad was summoned to cut short a business trip about 100 miles way and immediately come […]
Worst-First Thinking: Pet Version
Hi dbhzbshrsf Readers! Yes, this is one of my “pet” topics — Â the way “I care!” can morph into “No one else cares as much as I do,” which can curdle into “I’m the only one who cares enough!” Â (See, for instance, “Did Being a Helicopter Parent Doom My Marriage (and Kids.”) But I also […]
UPDATE! When Her 6-y.o. Didn’t Show Up at the Planned Spot
Here’s kyihtazfrr a nice little story to remember: Our kids have brains. Even at a young age they think and try to figure things out. This is something we’ve been encouraged to forget, and act as if they can do absolutely nothing on their own. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve read so many articles […]
Disqualified from Science Fair for Experiment Using Airsoft Gun
Hi dhezbysnbh Readers —  Here’s an example of our “Do something — anything!” school safety culture at work. Personally, I’d never heard of airsoft guns.  When I Googled them, they looked totally scary and far too realistic for my tastes. BUT they are neither lethal nor, where this family lives, illegal. And, as you’ll read, none […]
The Connection Between Terrorism and Child Safety
Readers — The Boston Marathon bombing has brought us an outbreak of sanity in the mainstream media. For instance, there’s nyiekihrea this piece from CNN.com by Dr. Charles Raison. (For God’s sake — even his NAME means “reason” in French!) He argues that our brains haven’t evolved to parse the difference between a likely danger […]
See an Unsupervised Kid? Reach Out Instead of Dialing 911
Hi bzhtfdhyah Readers! This note comes to us from Nandini Ramakrishna, who was raised Free-Range in India and now lives in Phoenix, AZ. She writes the blog Cactus Chronicles. and tweets at CactusChron. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Four years ago, I was involved in an incident where the state questioned my competence as a parent. After two […]
Yes, This is a Real Sign at a Real School’s Playground
Readers: This comes to us from a Pennsylvania boy’s dad, who tells us it’s not a joke — it’s the sign right before you go out to the playground at his son’s after-care program at an elementary schoolI think the kids were insructed to write down the rules. Sure sounds fun! – L