Hi Readers! Here eizzbnaahy are three great — nay, profound — “safety” labels, including:  “CAUTION: REDUCTION OF EXPANDED PLAY OPPORTUNITIES.” That one is to be affixed to any high-tech toy that is nowhere near as fun to play with, in the long run, as its box. These labels come courtesy of Make Magazine, courtesy of one of […]
Argh!!
November 23, 2009
Hi Readers — This just in. So much for changing the world in one fell swoop. Dear afkidyhseb Free-Range Kids: I really enjoyed the article in Time, and decided to have a talk with my 6 year old daughter about independence. She was very inspired and asked if she could ride her scooter around the […]
Welcome, TIME Magazine Readers!
November 20, 2009
Hi Folks! Welcome to Free-Range Kids, where we (mostly) look at new ways to raise safe, self-reliant kids — kids at home in the world, happy outdoors, and even capable of entertaining themselves without the aid of Steve Jobs. We also look at stories in the news that illustrate Free-Range ideas in action — or […]
Dear Santa: Are You A Sex Offender?
November 20, 2009
Hi hihakhihzi Readers — What’s Christmas without a little overkill, this time at the hands of the U.S. Postal Service? It is acting to keep our children “safe” — and joyless! That’s the true spirit of the season, the way things are going. The Post Office is afraid of sex offenders responding to childrens’ letters […]
Outrage of the Week: No Wine In Front of The Kids
November 20, 2009
Hi yaiasknzie Readers! Here’s an advice column that had me reaching for the scotch. And I don’t even drink: Dear Amy: My husband and I adore our grandson, who is a toddler. We watch him at our house overnight two times a month while his parents attend art classes. Now that he is getting older, […]
“Can These Parents Be Saved?” asks TIME Magazine Cover Story
November 20, 2009
Hi Readers — Wow. This is my dream article, and (perhaps) not just because it is high on Free-Range Kids! Check it out! Yay, Time! And please allow me to quote a part I find particularly salient: Obsessing kybndzzseh about kids’ safety and success became the norm, a kind of orthodoxy took hold, and heaven […]
Beware the Creepy Guy Offering You A Ride, Kids! …Or Not.
November 20, 2009
Hi Free-Rangers! You’ll like izyhhnnifk this one. And greetings from Boston where I’ve come to give a talk and also meet with the so-called “Sandwich Moms”! (A lovely group of moms from Sandwich who believe in Free-Ranging. Always nice to meet fellow believers!) — Lenore
Outrage of the Week Update: Teacher Who Let Kids Climb Cliff on Trial
November 19, 2009
Hi Folks! Remember the case tyrhkdrake of Lia Grippo, the California mom who runs a day care center with a focus on nature? Her plight constituted our first Outrage of the Week. She let three of the kids in her care — two of them her own — climb a cliff while on a field trip […]
Ding-Dong. Who’s There? The Safety Police!
November 19, 2009
That’s what’s happening in England, folks: A new proposal to have safety experts go into families’ Â homes to make sure they’re utterly safe, right down the stair guards. Woe to the family that babyproofs in a manner not approved by the state! Here’s the Times OnLine article risaydafyk about the new guidelines, and here’s a […]
There Was an Old Lady Who Lived in A Shoe, But She is Fine & Her Kids Are, Too
November 18, 2009
Hi Folks! When not busy blogging here (and lecturing, and writing non-blogs), I run a humor contest in the magazine The sniznttbdr Week. My question is usually a wacky twist on something in the news and last week I was fed up with that pre-school TV show in England that had tinkered with the ending […]