Hi htifztdsty Readers — I got this note yesterday and so many points resonated for me, I thought I’d share it. I think the writer makes a great point about hindsight — that just because, when looking back, we can see how most ills could have been prevented doesn’t mean that if we only plan hard enough, […]
Archive | Zingers and retorts
Great Note from a Paranoid Mom
Hey atiyzhnzhz Folks! Grab some confetti, stand up and throw it in the air. We are getting somewhere! Read on! Dear Lenore — I watched Penn & Teller’s “Bullsh*t” episode featuring you and your son, Izzy, which led me to your web site and, subsequently, the recent purchase of your book, “Free-Range Kids.” I’m loving […]
Trust No One — Especially Not a Parent Volunteering at School
Hi Readers — Here’s a round-up bbfnahyfts of Providence, Rhode Island-area schools that are making their parent volunteers get background checks, sent in by a gal named Rema. I know a lot of folks will say, “This makes sense! Can’t hurt — can only help!” but let’s consider whether that’s true. *First of all, if there […]
Jaycee’s Story and the Yale Bride Who Was Murdered
Hi Readers — After the terrible story of Jaycee Dugard’s abduction and 18-year imprisonment came to light a few weeks ago, the media was on fire with reminders that our children are NEVER safe on the streets and anything like this could happen at any time on any unchaperoned trip to school. You’ll recall one bit […]
Zingers Needed
Hi Folks! I know, I know — I should have a million by now: Stunning repostes with which to parry fearmongers, who always have “rigtheousness” on their side, as if THEY care and WE don’t. (E.g., “But even if we save ONE LIFE isn’t it worth it?” — a very hard line to respond to […]
Free-Range Success — Thanks to Laziness!
Dear fzahniarhr Readers — Here’s a success story from Plano, Texas! We live about 200 yards from the school. Our block ends across the street from the front of the school. The crossing guard is one street over (on our same block, so no need for kids to cross a street). Yet, every single child […]
Hey White House Honchos: Your Country Needs You More than Your Kids!
Note bhdkatehrk to White House budget chief Peter Orszag: You are completely, dangerously deluded. Not about the economy! (Or maybe you are — I can’t say.) But you definitely are deluded about your job as a parent. And so are a bunch of your buddies. A recent article in The New York Times, “‘Family Friendly’ […]
A Call from the Police About My Son (On Christmas)
Ho efkehesake ho ho, my child was escorted off the Long Island Railroad today for riding without an adult. The police were called. He’s 10. He — Izzy — has ridden this route solo a dozen times before. It’s a straight shot on a commuter train and, as always, he was being met at the […]
Is there any way to lure kids back outside?
This znibirdbeb post comes to us from Kenny Felder, a high school teacher and father of four in North Carolina who has been thinking about why our kids are always inside, instead of outside playing. To see the full essay, please go to http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/kenny/essays/safety2.html. Â By Kenny Felder Here is a little science fiction story I […]
How to answer the people who think you’re nuts?
Remember the “Snappy Answers to Stupid Questions†that used to run in Mad? That’s what we need here at Free Range Kids. As a recent email from “Skyscraper†put it: “This site needs a seperate idea page for what to say when others question the ‘free-range’ parenting approach.†So true. What do rsssrikfab you say […]