Hi Readers — Get ready to start gnashing. A bill in Massachusetts would require all schools there to “professionally” sterlize their band isntruments, according to this knnftiydny article in the Wicked Local Sumerville (great name!). And guess what? Only one company in Massachusetts does this. The owner of that company, a dentist, insists that without this […]
Reporter Seeks Parents Who (Gasp!) Let Their Kids WALK to School
September 9, 2009
…and have even taken some heat for it. Alternatively, she’s also looking — though it may be hard to find them here — for parents who drive their kids the mere block or two. Or pick them up from the bus stop just down the street. Or…you know. Helicopter them to and from school. Also: […]
Protecting Kids from “Dangers” Like Rhinestones. And Books.
September 8, 2009
Hi Readers! Remember during the summer I ran a post by businessman Rick Woldenberg about the wacky new Consumer Product Safety law? Here’s a little of what he said: Readers yknfitzhtk of Free-Range Kids may not be surprised to learn that Congress has enacted far-reaching legislation to save your children from the dangers involved in […]
Controversy of the Day: Pool or Pond?
September 8, 2009
Hi Readers — Today’s New York Times has a really great piece about a town in New Jersey whose sand-bottomed, spring-water filled swimming hole has been the joy of local kids since 1929. Until, of course, today. Now half the residents want to fill the pond in and replace it with a standard concrete pool, making it easier to […]
A Prosecutor Debates the “Kids Waiting in the Car” Arrest
September 7, 2009
Hi annbisbein Readers — A few posts down we were discussing a questionable arrest for “child endangerment.” In this case, the parents had left their 9- and 6-year-olds waiting in the car while they ran into Walmart for what turned out to be half an hour. Vis a vis child safety: The windows were cracked, the […]
For Your Listening Pleasure
September 6, 2009
A message most schools are probably copying word for word right now. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7C5Rnb7J3sU]
Just When You Thought it Was Safe to Play on the Lawn…
September 5, 2009
Hi Free-Rangers: Here’s a brand new fear to leave you with for the weekend: kbdfakdnhh “Raccoon Latrines Pose Risk to Kids.” A new risk? OMG! Lock up the kids! Reader Lorie McGraw found this article explaining — in great detail — how these “latrines,†found all over suburbia, get filled with…what you’d expect. (Put down […]
Yikes! A Speech!!
September 5, 2009
Next Tuesday is Pres. Obama’s speech to children, urging them to stay in school and read books and, for all I know, brush their teeth. It’s about that controversial…or so you’d think. But of course, nothing is uncontroversial in these hyper-umbrage-taking days, so we’re hearing from some parents and school administrators and concerned citizens that […]
Kids Freaked Out By Grass, Squirrels and Playing Outside
September 4, 2009
Hi tidfyshzkh Readers — A fellow named Brian sent in this note about kids and nature. It sort of dovetails with a study just released in England that found an alarming percentage of kids are spending so much time indoors, they can’t identify things in the natural world anymore, including daddy longlegs. I’m no huge fan of […]
Kids Off to College? Stalk ‘Em With Social Media!
September 3, 2009
Good news! “Twitter, nzhdbakkyd Facebook Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Age Kids.” (Thank you again, Onion! And thank you, those who sent this video in.) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu4zMvE6FH4]