Hi tztrbffbhd Readers: Here’s a note of transformation from a mom of five who is going Free-Range after three decades of fear. Her oldest is 32, youngest is 10. Thank you, thank you. I went from “You have got to be kidding — she let her kid take the subway?” to “This makes so much sense […]
Insane Overprotection at Day Care!
At the risk of wasting my, “What is this world coming to?” quota for life (I think we’re only issued about 7 million), WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO? Look at this hsbrbbtrbb article in Tuesday’s Washington Post. It’s about a brand new device, normally used to secure NUCLEAR REACTORS now being used to secure […]
Take the Free-Range Challenge! (It’s Almost Pathetically Easy)
Hey Free-Rangers! Here’s a cool idea I got from the gal who runs the blog Mommy rraiybieif Wizdom. She said: Why not post a Free-Range Challenge and have folks write in to say how it went? Sounds good to me! So here’s Free-Range Challenge #1, based on a comment that just came into this site. A reader […]
Bike Riding Dad Shot in the Name of “Safety”
If eafkhhzkkh you needed more proof that our society is a little wacky when it comes to kids and safety, get a load of this: A North Carolina off-duty fireman SHOT A DAD RIDING HIS BIKE WITH HIS THREE-YEAR-OLD IN A BIKE SEAT because the fireman thought the road was too busy for this kind […]
More Outrage! English Schools Ban Ties For Fear of Choking
English school boys are suddenly being forced to switch from old-fashioned ties to clip-ons. What overactive overprotective notion is behind this development, sent in by reader Gregory Sutter? The BBC ahstbtytkn explains:Â Â In May the Schoolwear Association, the trade body for the school uniform industry, said 10 schools a week in the UK were switching, […]
Outrage of the Week: “Marshmallow Safety Tips”
Gotta aizishtyrt thank Amy Bronee, host of the show Real Parenting on C-FAX in Canada for alerting me to this story in the National Post: Minding your marshmallows Katherine Dedyna, Canwest News Service Published: Friday, July 24, 2009 There’s no such thing as being too careful when it comes to kids and camping – even for hyper-vigilant […]
Pedophiles, Witches & Kids
Sometimes, when I try to explain how frenzied we have become about the real but extremely rare crime of childhood abduction, I compare our era to that of 1692 Salem. There was no way — back then, back there — to convince the average person: Don’t you see you’re being swept up on a wave […]
Why I Rolled My Eyes On FoxNews Today
Now I know how Al Gore felt.  Well, at least about playing to TV. Remember how he was caught rolling his eyes during one of the Presidential debates, and that sealed his fate – for some folks, anyway – as a hopelessly smug know-it-all? I rolled my eyes on TV today, too. Wish I hadn’t, […]
Sidewalks are for Kids!!
Here’s a piece about the wonderfulness of sidewalks — a great place for kids to play, meet, walk, chalk, ride. BUT! In the sweet town this lady is writing from — Bangor, Maine — she has gotten complaints from drivers: Kids shouldn’t be on sidewalks! They’re too close to the road! Excuse me? Where SHOULD kids […]
Fox & Friends & Me! Tues. Morn around 8 a.m. Eastern Time
I’ll be on Fox & Friends tomorrow morning, defending Free-Range Kids as a sane, safe, happy, healthy way to raise children with some moxie! But maybe I won’t call it “moxie,” for fear of sounding 389 years old. Maybe I’ll say it’s a way to raise children with some solid “self-esteem” — which is also […]