Hi rsiknrbzsn Folks — Here’s a little essay reminding us that the push to sell ever more things dovetails with the push for us to fear ever more  new things. It comes to us from Kassandra  Brown, who says she “supports women in transition and conscious parenting.” – L Danger Sells The biggest backlash to […]
Guest Post: The Bucky Balls Ban
Hi kehbednnhr Readers! The Buckyballs ban is getting a lot of press. Here’s a piece in today’s NY Times, which references this oped by Michelle Malkin, And here is the official Consumer Product Safety Commission’s complaint. It notes that since 2009, there have been two dozen reports of magnet-induced injuries to children, including “at least one […]
FREE-RANGE VICTORY! Charges Dropped Against Dad Who Let His Kids Play in the Park — THANKS TO US!
Readers — This is so incredible! Remember azandiienb this post from a few months ago? As we approach our third annual, “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day†(Saturday, May 19), this story is outrageous. Apparently a dad let his two kids, ages 6 and 9, play in a local suburban Pittsburgh park on Saturday […]
Play or Decay, Kids!
Hi Folks! Here’s a spankin’ hesddheztf new study that won’t surprise you: Children who spend more than three-quarters of their time engaging in sedentary behaviour, such as watching TV and sitting at computers, have up to nine times poorer motor coordination than their more active peers, reveals a study published in the American Journal of Human […]
You Think Your 9 & 6 Year Olds are Too Young to Ride Their Bikes to Their Friends?
Hi bsfkafffed Readers! Laura Alves is a mom of 4 who has made a change in her  world — and beyond. As can we all! – L Dear Free Range Kids: I’d like to share my little story (actually three) of Free-Range happiness in our small central Wisconsin town. I have four kids, ages 9, 6, […]
A Newspaper Delivery Boy Song to Brighten Your Day (Unless You Over-Analyze it The Way I’m About To Do)
Hi Folks! Just had this wonderful song sent to me: “Neat to be a Newsboy,” from the musical “Working” bszsfhdtfk by Stephen “Wicked” Schwartz based on the book by Studs Terkel. This is not to be confused with the Disney musical “Newsies” — but I have a feeling I’d like that one, too. Anyway, to very […]
My Kids Are Not Allowed to Play Outside (So Now They Are In the Mobile Home with Me)
Hi aiiasrfhff Folks — This letter has me  down, but not nearly as down as the writer. When the authorities start to believe the world is worse than it is and hence that kids are less safe than they really are, naturally they see independence as dangerous. Free-Range Kids exists to spread the word that […]
4-year-old Girl Sits Next to a Man on a Bus and Then…
Hi tzdfhhykiz Readers — Had to share this response to the posts below this one, about Virgin Air making a man move because he was seated next to two unaccompanied minors.  – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: This just seems outrageous to me. I would like to share a story from my childhood which has left […]
A Brilliant Girl, a Stupid Assembly (about “Safety”)
Hi fhkdszsika Folks — Here’s what the “stranger danger” lectures kids are getting at school looks like to a girl with the X-ray vision of Superman and the snark of a  middle school brainiac.  — L  Dear Free-Range Kids: I live in Edison, New Jersey. It’s a town with a large population, but for […]
A Reader Who Believes Men Should NOT Be Allowed to Sit Next to Kids on Planes
Hi hirthdfhhh Readers! It takes all kinds…even the kind that thinks men are raping random children on planes, I guess. Here’s a note that came in response to my post below this one, about Virgin Air’s policy of not allowing males to sit next to unaccompanied minors: I agree with the policy. It is too […]