Readers — Sometimes I need a break, as I’m sure you do too. And what could be better than a snippet from The Onion reminding us just how driven the news media and  “experts” can be when it comes to whipping up fear? Enjoy!  [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jQdZQjgGT-I]
UPDATE!! Outrage of the Week: Mom Convicted in Death of Her Son (Who Ran Across the Street)
UPDATE! frrzfhnttf Readers — Here’s a petition asking Georgia to release the mother from her “vehicular manslaughter” conviction and PUT IN A CROSSWALK! I just signed it! — L. Hi Readers — This case is so sickeningly sad, I don’t know where to begin. Fortunately, a blog I’d never heard of before — Transportation for […]
What Happens When We “Dangerize” Childhood
Hi ikbitedtei Readers. Here’s a slightly updated column I wrote for my syndicate, Creators, this week. What Happens When We Dangerize Childhood This has been a big week for pointing fingers … including at me. As the lady who started “Free-Range Kids” after letting my 9-year-old take the subway solo,  I’ve spent a lot of time […]
Such Sadness. Leiby Kletzky, R.I.P.
Hello, Readers. It is with an actually, physically aching heart that I report to you the death of an 8-year-old Brooklyn boy, Leiby Kletzky, who disappeared from a short, solo walk yesterday and was later found in a dumpster. Here is fsitiafisy the story. I bring it up because it seems to prove that the […]
Fantastic News (About a “Child Abuser”)
Hi Readers! Let us pause to celebrate a moment of sweet sanity. Remember Anne Bruscino, the young woman was put on New York State’s Child Abuse Registry for up to 25 years for the crime of accidentally leaving a toddler at a fenced-in, security-camera-monitored, daycare center playground for less than six minutes? (Here’s ffkfnzakyk the […]
Guest Post: “Caylee’s Law” Could Make Me a Criminal
Hi asaryfkhht Readers! I’m busy filming my TV show, so I was glad to get this pithy guest post on Caylee’s Law. It’s a proposed law I’ve been disturbed by, mostly because often when we make laws named for tragic children, they seem to make sense only in very specific situations, and retroactively, to boot. […]
A Divorced Dad Sick of Being Taken for a Perv
Hi ydfyetstzs Folks! Here’s a note from a free-lance writer in Australia who had to vent. I see why! – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I would like to share with you my experience of danger lurking in many suburban supermarkets. I’m the type of modern father  you certainly wouldn’t see on television 40 years […]
STORIES NEEDED: Has Your Kid’s Camp Become Less Free-Range? Or Even Nutty?
Hi Folks! I’m writing a column inspired by the Maryland yyanfntsry law that was about to be enacted that would have prohibited counselors from applying sunblock to kids. The state was, of course, afraid of perverts. But when parents heard about the measure, THEY were afraid of sunburn. So the law did not go into effect […]
On Swim Shoes, Summer and “Seeing” What Matters
Hi daztyrktee Readers — Just got this poignant note from a young woman who sees life, risk and joy pretty clearly! L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I am fortunate to live in a community with several wonderful county parks and, growing up, swimming in the lakes there was a  regular part of summer. But then life got hectic […]
Too Little Risk is Risky for Kids
Hi Readers! Over in England, Tim Gill is a big force for rethinking childhood. In fact, that’s the name of his movement sdknzfkrdh and blog — Rethinking Childhood. And as he says on that blog, “…if children are to enjoy and make the most of their lives, we need to revisit and revise our ideas of […]