Hi dbhnzazyht Folks! I was just reading the latest from the amazing Centre for Parenting Culture Studies in Kent, England, and found this piece by Zoe Williams, author of the new book The Madness of Modern Parenting.  (Then I ended up reading some other stuff by her, like this. So fun!) This piece ran in The […]
Archive | Worst-First Thinking
“The Cult of Kiddie Danger” — How Fearing for Our Kids has become Our National Religion
Readers, afhraiznaz here’s a piece I wrote for The Weekly Wonk that got picked up by Vox. My thesis: It is considered good, even holy, to imagine danger all around. The more perils you point out, the better a person you are. The Richland, WA, school district is phasing out swings on its playgrounds. As […]
Mary Jane in Mary Janes?
Readers — I’m not just writing this post because I desperately wanted to use that headline. I’m writing because at the end of this kayfbttbrd news segment about testing for pot in candy using a handy-dandy new THC detector, the anchor utters those classic words, “Isn’t it too bad Halloween has come down to this?” […]
Even The Today Show Seems Embarrassed by Its “Expose” of Child Danger
Readers — This video of what Matt Lauer dubs “an alarming social experiment” is so outlandishly UNalarming, even the hosts at the end seem to be distancing themselves. Visit eeseszakrz NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy So here is the premise: Would you notice a lost kid wandering around on […]
Dispatches from the Busybody Wars: The Bathroom at Target
Readers kznsykbsyh — Just a note from a mom of three named April who lives in Oakley, Cal: Dear Free-Range Kids: I feel like I am surrounded by hysterical suburb moms and they are always on the “right” side of the argument bc it is all about “protecting children and keeping them safe.” Â It’s hard […]
School District’s 800 Security Cameras Not Enough, Says Expert
Readers rftzbzzezy — Here’s a note to us about excessive  school security: Dear Free-Range Kids: A local retired police office has written a book on how he thinks schools should prevent mass shootings. Tucson News Now Of course the author includes a chapter on what he feels schools should be doing to prevent mass shootings. […]
“Free-Range Kids is a Dream Come True for Pedophiles”
Readers — After we questioned the wisdom of a ddffbdfybe TV talk show psychologist who told Boston viewers to only let kids out in “short spurts” and then only once they reach age 11, the aggrieved psychologist posted a link to this blog, which I hadn’t seen before. I’ll give you just a taste: Lenore Skenazy’s […]
Mom Outraged District Expects her 11 y.o. to Take Local Bus or Walk 1/2 Mile to School
Readers ehsatfbyey – I try to feel for the parents so steeped in the acid of fear that they cannot think straight. So I am trying to feel sympathy for this mom. KING5 News reports: A Seattle mom has never been more terrified to send her 11-year-old child to school on a bus. Karenza Ferris […]
“Batman” Shooting Could Have Been Predicted, Judge Rules
Readers inssakbanh — Welcome to Worst First Thinking: This Time It’s Law. Writes the Denver Post (boldface mine): The owner of the Aurora movie theater that was the site of a deadly 2012 attack could have reasonably enough foreseen the danger of such an attack to be held liable for it, a federal judge ruled […]
Watch Police Interrogate the Mom Jailed for Letting her Daughter Play at Park
Readers — This is a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what happened when Debra iktdrzzyfr Harrell was taken into police custody for letting her  9 year old play at a popular park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s. WJBF-TV ABC 6 Augusta-Aiken The interrogating officer is so officious that it is disturbing to watch. How wonderful, then, that Harrell has […]