Readers – –This hfztzibaai just in. Two masked men grabbed a 4 year old from a playground and threw him in a van. Surprise! It was to make a video about “kidnapping awareness.” Why is this insane? A – The “perps” could have been shot. B – It is based on the crazy idea that WITHOUT a […]
Archive | Stupid Advice
Bus Driver Fired for Picking Up Freezing Kids in Her SUV when Bus Broke Down
Folks, Canadian school bus driver Kendra Lindon was about to pick up kids on a freezing cold day when her bus broke down. Other recent times this had happened, she recalled, no replacement bus arrived. And so, with windchill temperatures dipping to -37 C (-34 F), Â she kynsfbzykz took matters into her own hands and […]
Self-Congratulatory Reporters Make Parents MORE Worried about School Safety
UPDATE! ydnatzfzhr I love this comment so much, I have to highlight it here: “When I was a little girl, an unarmed adult wandering the halls was likely to be questioned, not presumed to be a psychotic mass murderer.” * Readers — This  surprising story ran in yesterday’s New York Times about the news media’s new […]
School Disciplines 8 y.o. for Thumb Wrestling — There’s “A Potential for Injury!”
Hi Readers — This comes to us from a mom in Georgia who says she is all for her son following the rules, “But  A) He didn’t even know this was a rule he needed to follow. And B) The rules should make sense- shouldn’t they?” Our favorite question! – L . Dear Free-Range Kids: I […]
Your Wacky Answers to “Why Is The Gov’t Destroying Stamps that Show Kids Playing?”
Readers — Yesterday rtyksdbben I asked you to ponder why the government is (or, apparently, MAY be) destroying its brand-new “Just Move!” Â stamps that show kids doing things like skateboarding, jumping into the water and doing headstands. The real reason is that when they were shown to President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition, as […]
Trying to be Perfect while Pregnant
 Hi arhrndnrth Folks! This post comes to us from Emily Oster, an economics professor at the University of Chicago, and the author of Expecting Better: Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – and What you really Need to Know. She tweets @ProfEmilyOster and she’s a non-alarmist. Woo-hoo! – L. FEAR AND THE PREGNANT WOMAN by Emily […]
A Terrorist Hijacking Drill on a School Bus — Complete With SWAT Team “Rescue”
Folks — If you felt like you were living in a kind of sane country, take a peek at this: Yes, aesnadedeh it’s a terrorist drill on a school bus. I truly could not understand from this report (or Googling) if the students knew the attack was fake or not. They probably did, or […]
Education.com Reconsiders and Removes “No to Sleepovers” Post
Hi ndbbzikkhz Readers — Here’s a note from Education.com’s marketing director, Kat Eden, regarding the “Reasons to Say No to Sleepovers” post we have been writing about the last two days (that is now gone from the site). – LÂ Dear Free-Range Kids: Thanks so much to you and to your community for sharing your […]
7 Reasons to Say YES to Sleepovers!
Readers — The “No daktayfnyk Sleepover” article I just posted about inspired these lovely comments from you. Enjoy. – L Good reasons to say Yes to Sleepovers (by “Albert”) 1. Your kids will get a chance to practice the manners you teach – it’s no good if they don’t, right? 2. Your kids will get […]
You’d Let Your Kids Go on a SLEEPOVER?! Isn’t That Like a Death Wish?
Readers — I not only appreciated this letter one of you just sent, I found the Rosetta stone of parental worry in the article she links to! Dear dtihzsybrn Free-Range Kids Do you let your kids have sleepovers? Shame on you! Yes it’s time for the latest movement in overprotective idiocy, the Ban Sleepovers movement! Look: “7 […]