Hi tssyrrnaen Readers — Got this note and had to vent. I am SO SICK of everyone thinking of everything in terms of perversion. It is a perverted way to think!! Here goes. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: This isn’t strictly a Free-Range issue perhaps, but it illustrates the nonsensical trend of treating inappropriate but […]
Archive | Stupid Advice
Recent Tweets and Tidbits!
Hi barehkrtsy Readers — I know not all of you follow Twitter, so I’m pasting some recent tweets (Tweets?) here for your perusal. Wonder which ones you’ll comment on! L. Swing sets removed from some W. Va. schools after kid jumps off, breaks arm, gets $20,000. Stop the insanity! Â http://bit.ly/d36m4y Strong essay: “Confessions of a […]
Dear Annie: Is It True That Every Time a Child is Alone He Gets Abducted?
Readers zezhyhzkna — Here the latest from Annie’s Mailbox, which is apparently chock full of psychotics. Â If you ever wonder why Americans are so obsessed with fear, dread and predators, here’s a little hint: Dear Annie: Last weekend, I stayed at an upscale motel where they serve breakfast in the lobby. After eating, I went […]
Outrage of the Week: Today Show’s Crazy Halloween Advice
Readers — It is time to howl at the moon, or, better yet, NBC. Its Today Show “panel shtndkhykb of experts” declared to the world the precise age at which parents can safely let their children start trick or treating without an older chaperon: 13. That’s right. Exactly the age when kids start thinking about […]
Recent Tweets, Cool Links
Hi Readers — Thanks to YOU I get a ton of cool links and stories every day. Since I can’t get around to blogging about all of them (and sometimes don’t even know what to say, beyond, “Wow!” and “Yikes!” and “Gah!”), I tweet them out. And since I know not everyone’s on Twitter, I’m […]
Baby on Board…and Likely to Be Decapitated?
Hi ndbhehktsk Readers — Here’s a note from today’s mailbox. The lesson? If you can dream up ANY DANGER, no matter HOW RIDICULOUSLY REMOTE, you can try to scare a parent. It’s easy! It’s fun! It’s our new national pastime! — Lenore Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m currently pregnant with our first child, due in October. […]
Do Those “Family Stickers” on Cars Lure Creeps?
Hi Readers — Here’s a iatstfabin piece I wrote for ParentDish about “Annie’s Mailbox” (which seems to be filled with nuts). The question — or really statement by an Annie reader was — “Don’t put those little decals on your car that say your family members’ names or you will be followed by predators.”  To […]
Pacifier Aggression
Hi isabaeetez Readers — Boy, your letters keep blowing me away. Here’s another one that made me think — and fume. Â It reminds me of a great essay by Spiked Online contributor Nancy McDermott (Spiked is sort of Britain’s Slate) about how this generation of parents treats every childrearing decision as a Nobel-worthy research project. […]
Yup, That’s Me. The “Bizarre†Mom on the Cover of the NY Daily News
Hi Folks — Well, yes, the eyryrdisit cover of the NY Daily News. That’s good and bad. Good — it certainly gets the word out. Bad, maybe this headline: Â “Leave Your Kids in the Park: Mom’s Bizarre Campaign.” Put that way it does sound a little bizarre. But what’s way more bizarre to me is […]
Guest Post: Is EVERYTHING Too Dangerous?
Hi tfdbzarbri Folks! I was reading this blog post about product-recall-mania today and nodded along with so much of it, I asked the writer, Julie Colwell, if I could post it and she said sure. So here it is, slightly edited: Micromanaging Moms 101, by Julie Colwell, from her blog, “The Mother Load.” So, in […]