Hi fzyztkisib Readers! Here’s a story most of us can relate to, from mom of two Kelli Oliver George, whose funny, addictive blog is Rancid Raves. I LOST MY SON AT THE FAIR, BUT I FOUND HIM — SUPRISINGLY! NOT by Kelli Oliver George I thought about Free-Range Kids long and hard last night when […]
Speaking of Paranoia…
August 11, 2009
Here is a great quote, lifted from The inzttfntke Week (my favorite magazine*), which lifted it from David Iganatius in The Washington Post. It points out that we have gotten so used to thinking in terms of preparing for the very worst, the very least likely scenarios, that that we don’t realize how overbearing (and often dumb) our […]
News Flash: Kids SAFER Than We Think!
August 11, 2009
Kudos to the Kansas City Star and reporters Eric Adler and Emily Van Zandt for their FRONT PAGE article tksszhfnfn yesterday (sent to use here by many readers – thanks!): “Statistics tell parents that the world is not so dangerous for their children” Listen to this! Despite the trepidation that naturally arises when releasing our […]
Free-Ranging in Less Obvious Ways
August 10, 2009
Hi Readers! This essay, from Leah R. Weiss Caruso, talks about the less visible side of Free-Range parenting. The part about letting our kids learn from their mistakes — and giving them the freeom to make mistakes at all. One of the chapters of my book iitszntryi is called, “Fail! It’s the New ‘Succeed!’” Leah, a […]
Burn Your “Sex Offender” Map
August 8, 2009
Okay, here is some weekend reading to sink your teeth into. It’s an article kbrzyeyzfd from the Economist: “Unjust and Ineffective: America has pioneered the harsh punishment of sex offdenders. Does It Work?” The short answer is “No.” We are putting people on sex offender registries who do not belong there at all. People who […]
When Librarians Meant Business!
August 8, 2009
Just purchased, for 35 cents, a slim German text book last checked out of New York’s DeWitt Clinton High School in Feb. of 1931. (By Aaron Weiss, if you were wondering. It says so on the call slip.) What really got me is the “Law of the State of New York. Education Law – Section […]
Why Does My Neighbor Trust Her Kid at the Bus Stop, And I Don’t?
August 7, 2009
Hi Readers! Here’s an honest reflection by writer/editor/mom of two, Denise etbeaeksas Schipani, whose blog is Confessions of a Mean Mommy. The Bus Stop Conundrum: To Free-Range or Not Free-Range? By Denise Schipani Last fall, a new family moved into our neighborhood, and on the first day of school, there was a new girl at our little bus […]
Outrage of the Week Demoted to Not-Quite-An-Outrage!
August 7, 2009
Hey, this is just terrific news! Eagle Place Townhomes in Colorado has lifted its ban that forbid ANY CHILD UNDER AGE 16 FROM PLAYING OUTSIDE WITHOUT ADULT SUPERVISION. Let’s hear it for the power of the press! An article in the Boulder Camera earlier this week highlighted the Townhomes’  bylaws that began, “While children bring such joy to our lives […]
Outrage of the Week: “We LOVE Seeing Children Outside (But Not Under Age 16)”
August 6, 2009
Hi Readers — It’s summer! Time for kids to run around and ride their bikes and play like puppies till the moon shoos them home. Unless, that is, they’re living in the Eagle Place Townhomes in Lafayette, Colorado. There, no children are allowed to play outside, unsupervised, until age 16. That’s right. No kids. Outside. […]
Riding Lessons
August 6, 2009
Readers: enfsaaeder Here’s a lovely piece about …well, not exactly about any Free-Range issue in particular. But it sure resonates. — Lenore By Julie Ann Kodmur  Who knew how much you could learn from a bunch of horses?! Certainly not me – until my then-3 year old daughter started taking lessons at a humble barn in […]