. I absnzrtezz figured I’d get your weekly dose of head-exploding insanity out of the way on Monday. Then we can talk about other ideas the rest of the week: Â . Dear Free-Range Kids: . I’m contacting you because I need a voice of reason in the insanity that are the local mothers in Columbus, […]
Archive | Photography issues
“A Man Photographed My Kid at the Playground” “Smash Him in the Face!”
. Please tell me I am not the only person who would see a Facebook note like the one below (with a photo of the gosh-darn camera-wielding stranger) and write a comment like, “Taking photos of kids at play does not make a person a predator,” or, “Can we please give the guy the benefit […]
A Truck Drove by The Bus Stop!
. This ikfrnrbday was a  notice sent out by an Iowa school district. As the resident who sent it to me wrote, “Evidently it is now a crime to even speak to a child waiting for the bus. Two men in a truck! Everybody run!” (Boldface mine.) Subject: Stranger Danger Alert: 1300 Block of NW 92nd Street, […]
Man Takes Selfie at Target. Nearby Mom Thinks He Photographed Her Kids, Posts His Picture on Facebook. Now He’s Getting Death Threats.
. What a week. By believing that fhtyrzyftz predators with puppies are grabbing kids in broad daylight, right and left, and by videotaping that made-for-TV scenario, Joey Salads helped reinforce one of the fastest growing beliefs of the day: That any man who interacts with children is doing it for his own perverted purposes. That belief […]
UPDATE! See the Real Bingo Card for Child Hysteria Bingo!
LOOK! dbysifneah Thank you, Marjorie Ingall, for making this into a Bingo Card! (And here’s a site that allows you to do the same. So fun!) Readers — Commenter Jenny Islander sent in this brilliant Child Hysteria Bingo board! Feel free to add more ideas: Welp, I think I’ve finally read enough of Free-Range Kids to […]
School Bans Costumes for Mental Health Reasons
Hi bfnenrsnft Readers! I’m up in Canada to give some talks to Early Educators, and one of them told me about a school in Paris, Ontario, that has banned Halloween costumes. Why? The school gave whole host  of reasons, including the fear that the costumes could upset some children, as could the prospect of wearing […]
“Children Photographed without Consent,” Cops Say. Uh…So?
Readers — Once again cops hbzbhnhrfy have been called to the scene of a tragic crime: Some children were photographed in a water park by a man. Well, okay, maybe it wasn’t quite tragic. No one was hurt at all. And it wasn’t actually not a crime. In fact, you could call it a NON-EVENT. […]
Mom Beats Up College Student Taking Pix of Her Daughter in Park
Readers eshshahaes — weren’t we just talking about bizarre belief that anyone photographing children is somehow putting them at risk? And creepy to boot? Here’s what happened in Springfield, Mass, by reporter Conor Berry, at The Republican:Â Â A 32-year-old city resident was arrested for allegedly stomping on the face of a college student who was […]
Please PLEASE Do Not Publish Photos of Local Children!
Readers eniesfanrb — This is just a fascinating artifact from the world of Worst-First thinking, where folks believe today’s children are completely besieged by criminal masterminds (or at least the last of the phonebook users) Â who are driven in equal measures by rank evil and a love of intensive research. It ran as a letter […]
Australian School Bans Swimming Photos. Why? Guess
Folks — The nhnhrdbbsh Manifesto Club in  Britain is just a brilliant group dedicated to many of the same issues as Free-Range Kids. Among them: The way that pedophile panic is making us distrust absolutely every adult around a child. The latest example? This: An Australian primary school has banned parents from taking photos of […]