Hi hiekhabssz Readers! Here’s a note I got from a reader and a note SHE got from her mom. The latter may sound very similar to the one in your own inbox. Dear Free-Range Kids: I received the email below from my mother.  She is a professional worry-wart. I’m not sure her statistics are correct, […]
Tag Archives | abduction
A Terribly Sad Day
October 23, 2009
Even as our hearts  sink with sadness, they  go out to the family of Somer Renee Thompson, the 7-year-old whose body was found in a landfill. It is impossible to think of her story without feeling rage and anguish. It’s also a hard time to talk about the fact that her case, as searing as […]
“TSA Took My Baby!” Hoax?
October 19, 2009
Hi Folks — On Friday I wrote a piece hdsdsnayib based on a blog by a mom who said the TSA took her baby son while frisking her — and him, I guess. I said it sounded like the mom was hysterical and the TSA employees were rude. The TSA then released a video of the […]
Ad Council Warns Parents: Watch Out for the Boogeyman!
October 6, 2009
This ad ziehyebsbh gives me chills AND the creeps. Here’s what it says, in urgent, caring, chiding tones: You take the family to the food court. Your wife and Pete head for tacos. You and Danny want Chinese. You look up at the menu. You look down to see what Danny wants . But you […]
Great Note from a Paranoid Mom
September 28, 2009
Hey atiyzhnzhz Folks! Grab some confetti, stand up and throw it in the air. We are getting somewhere! Read on! Dear Lenore — I watched Penn & Teller’s “Bullsh*t” episode featuring you and your son, Izzy, which led me to your web site and, subsequently, the recent purchase of your book, “Free-Range Kids.” I’m loving […]
Jaycee’s Story and the Yale Bride Who Was Murdered
September 15, 2009
Hi Readers — After the terrible story of Jaycee Dugard’s abduction and 18-year imprisonment came to light a few weeks ago, the media was on fire with reminders that our children are NEVER safe on the streets and anything like this could happen at any time on any unchaperoned trip to school. You’ll recall one bit […]
Zingers Needed
September 15, 2009
Hi Folks! I know, I know — I should have a million by now: Stunning repostes with which to parry fearmongers, who always have “rigtheousness” on their side, as if THEY care and WE don’t. (E.g., “But even if we save ONE LIFE isn’t it worth it?” — a very hard line to respond to […]
What’s So Strange About This Article?
September 12, 2009
To me — everything. Here eznrnekbbe it is. It’s about a 12-year-old, new to the neighborhood on his first day of school, who missed the bus home. He and his friend started walking, apparently got lost (the reference to Fred Myer is a local grocery), and pretty soon the entire town — police, Boys & Girls Club, […]
Are There Really Lessons to Learn From The Jaycee Abduction?
August 29, 2009
First off, my heart goes out to Jaycee Dugard, her daughters, her parents, step-parents — everyone in her circle. She was kidnapped 18 years ago and kept imprisoned since then, bearing her rapist/captor two daughters who were also imprisoned until a few days ago, when Jaycee walked into a police station. This is, of course, every […]
What Age Can Kids Start Walking to School?
August 17, 2009
Here’s my eayhaeszkn take on the issue, published in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. Some of it will sound a little familiar to Free-Range Kids regulars, but it bears repeating:Â Most of the world’s kids walk to school by themselves starting in 1st grade. But here? Are you kidding? While the majority of us parents walked to […]