Hi ndtyhknhay Readers! The librarian who wrote the letter below is very angry at us, thanks to a couple of misconceptions about what it means to raise a Free-Range Kid. Note to Librarian: We’re with you! We don’t want ill-behaved kids driving you crazy and putting themselves in danger. Thankfully, “Free-Range” does not mean neglect. […]
Hi niydayazyr Folks! This post comes to us from England, where  independent filmmaker David Bond is making a documentary about  MARKETING nature. I like that idea because I’d like to do something similar: MARKET the happy, confident childhood kids can enjoy if parents “buy”  the fact that  it’s safe. If you have any more ideas […]
Hi Folks! Last week was a double-header media week for Free-Range Kids. First KTRK, the ABC affiliate in Houston, did a story on the movement and  the reporter, Ilona nizzititba Carson, totally got it: Our goal  is not to put kids in danger, it’s to put danger in perspective. Wait’ll you see how Ilona wraps […]
Hi Readers! The post below this one is about a principal who chastised a mom for letting  her 10-year-old daughter take the city bus to school. The daughter loves the bus  and has made “people friends” (as opposed to “school kid friends”) on her daily commute. But the principal, as well as Child Protective Services, […]
Readers bihzfafhay — This letter has me shaking with every unpleasant emotion: Rage, frustration and, sorry to admit this, contempt. It is a perfect snapshot of the way excessive fear for kids coupled with authority can turn parenting into a defensive art, where we must FIGHT for our right to raise kids the way we […]
 Hi bbezkkhfne Folks! Here’s a letter from prison…er…Chuck E. Cheese, sent to us by Angelica Totten, who originally posted it on her Facebook page. I so agree that the policy at Chuck E’s is not only overkill, it’s cultural pollution, spreading the idea that predators are always lurking near kids and ready to kidnap them […]
Hey afheayzidk Folks — This was written in response to the post a few down from here, about a Girl Scout troop where the girls are making s’mores with marshmallow fluff instead of toasted marshmallows, presumably so no one gets hurt. One of the big-time tenets of Free-Range Kids is that kids are safer than […]
Here hbybzesirh you , folks. Let’s give this mom some ammo! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: My son’s school district has just instituted a no running policy during recess. I am, of course, appalled by this, feeling that the kids need to be able to blow off a little steam during those 10 minutes of […]
Hi rafbyrthnk Folks! A new development on the safety front to  ponder o’er the weekend! – L Dear Free-Range Kids: A few weeks ago, my daughter’s girl scout troop was invited to a sing-a-long with other troops, and they would have s’mores. There was a bubble on the form telling parents not to worry… the […]
Hi idfnabsebb Readers! My favorite quote from college was, “Action breaks the cycle.” You can think and think and think, but when you finally TAKE ACTION, things change. Here’s a story of just that, sent to us by Aimée Lafrenière Turner, who Tweets @AimeeLTurner and blogs at The Maine Page Turner. – L.  Dear Free-Range Kids: […]
