Hi aihkbtfrnr Readers! Here’s a follow-up to You’re a Horrible Mother, Part I. Get ready to seethe — and cheer! (And by the way, I am off for a week’s vacation with my family, so the postings may be sparse for the next few days.) — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Almost exactly a year ago […]
Archive | Zingers and retorts
Letter: I’m Overprotective…But Going Free-Range
Hi rafytiyrsy Readers! This is a heartening, even inspiring letter! Read on! — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I love my kids and I am overprotective, still, but I agree with giving your kids lots of freedom. I was able to go play with my friends whenever I wanted as long as I can remember. In […]
High-Functioning and Free-Range
Hi kddanzhdyn Readers: Here’s a nice reminder that Free-Rangers come in all shapes, sizes, ages and descriptions. — L Dear Free-Range Kids:Â I have a 14-year-old daughter with high functioning autism. This weekend, she had a little get-together at a arcade-type facility for her birthday. It is pretty large but very safe: games, rides, laser tag, […]
A Whittle Help Needed
Hi Readers! Over at ayayfinksk another blog I was just reading about a 4-year-old and his kitchen knife skills. They were good for his age, as evidenced by the video, but it’s not like he’s Julia Child. So I’m wondering: What age can we start teaching kids to use knives? And does anyone have any […]
Needed: Your Encounters with “What If?” Thinking
Hi Readers — One of the biggest frustrations in Free-Ranging is dealing with other people’s “What If?” fears. Why? Because they can never be answered! If a parent starts worrying about, “What if X, Y or Z happens while my child is doing…” rzfniraery anything, there is no way to say, “Don’t worry, it won’t.” Because, […]
Needed from YOU: Worst-First Thinking
Hi Readers! Well, it’s not that I want to see MORE Worst-First thinking out there. I’m just looking for examples of it — examples of incidents when people, confronted by normal behavior (like the kindergarteners in the post below this one) AUTOMATICALLY interpret it in the WORST way FIRST. E.g, “This is perverted!” rather than, […]
(Public) Bathroom Humor
Or really, just public bathroom stories. That’s what I’m looking for, readers. As I start pondering the idea of writing another book (and, more to the point, FILLING it), I’m going to be asking for anecdotes from the real world, from YOU. And what I need first, believe it or not, is bathroom lore! Specifically: […]
The “Worst Place on Earth” To Lose Track of a Baby?
Readers — This nsydbdakaf is a non-story about a mom who got her baby’s stroller onto the D.C. metro but then the doors closed before she could get on. Ritual infant sacrifice time? Surprisingly, no. Instead, the strangers gathered round the (sleeping) baby, alerted the authorities and got the stroller off at the next stop, […]
How Do You Tell A Total Helicopter to Back Off?
Okay, dszykztnyi Readers. Let’s help this mom out! Dear Free-Range Kids:  Finding this blog several years ago validated my desire to back off and let my kids be kids. At that time, I was mostly associating with “helicopter parents” and feeling inadequate for not wanting to micromanage my children’s every waking moment. And yet, one helicopter […]
Why Would You EVER Put Your Child’s Photo on Facebook for the CREEPS to See?!?
That’s what scared folks ask all the time, believing that predators have a lot more patience than the rest of us and are willing to look through ALL those family photos, just to glimpse your adorable child and plan a trip across several state lines to kidnap him/her. Next time you hear all that, remind […]