Hi Readers! Down in Australia I’m sort of happy to say a tempest is brewing over whether it is up to parents or police to decide when a child is “old enough” to walk around outside. According to this bdzsdaaszr story  on the home page of the Sydney Morning Herald: Officers told a Hornsby mother it […]
Tag Archives | australia
Children’s Sidewalk Chalk Drawing Outlawed
Hi Readers! Get a load of this dnhsrtibfb — little kids in Australia have been found guilty of violating graffiti laws with their chalk drawings on a sidewalk outside a cafe. This might not be such a Free-Range issue except for this: Mayor Ben Stennett visited the cafe yesterday as anger mounted. Almost 200 people […]
WWAFD? (What Would Atticus Finch Do?)
Hi tsadknkaid Readers! Normally I just tweet the lovely essays that come my way, linked from other sites. This one I have to recommend right HERE, to make sure everyone knows about it. It’s titled, “The Best Parenting Book You Will Ever Read,” which happens to be “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The piece (from Australia!) […]
The Tree-House is Gone
Hi Readers. Yup. The one we nsrhrzasrs discussed a couple posts ago has been dismantled. Here’s the story. It was too dangerous, the local council deemed. Personally, I liked one commenter’s idea that the folks who voted against it should have been required to spend an afternoon in it first. But I guess that didn’t […]
The Not-So-Magic Tree House
Hi Readers: Use this instead of coffee to get your heart pounding on a Monday morning: A tree house that has been delighting children in the Bondi neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, for six years could be torn down soon, says the Sydney nsiainyibs Morning Herald: Made by a builder, the Bondi cubby has attracted complaints […]
Outrage of the Day: Toddler on Dad’s Shoulders “In Danger”
Hi Readers — This is less about a society than gone crazy than something that drives ME crazy: Power in the hands of people without brains. This particular iykfkdferk incident involves a family at a festival in Sydney, Australia. The dad hoisted his not-quite-2-year-old onto his shoulders to get a better look. A guard told […]
How Predator Panic Spreads Around the World
Hi Readers! As you may recall, I was recently in Australia, where I was sort of surprised to hear how much their culture mirrors ours in terms of fear. The Aussies seem to be a bit less frantic — props to them — but there were still enough, “What harrezaayb about predators?” to make me […]
Iconic Merry-Go-Round Is Deemed an Insurance Liability
Hi Readers — Wheeeee! That’s the sound  of happy Australian kids in the town of Geraldton, playing on the merry-go-round. Or at least it was. The festive bit of fun was built 20 years ago to honor the spirit of local author Randolph Stow,  who wrote the apparently much-beloved book, “Merry Go Round In the […]
Not Completely Relevant But: How Many Australian Politicians Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?
Hi Readers! The answer is, apparently: None! It is too dangerous! At least, that’s what the Department of Health and Safety says, according to this khzikkeztz article. The issue surfaced during a Senate estimates hearing when Liberal Eric Abetz told upper house colleagues he was prevented recently from changing a light bulb in his electorate office. […]
Danger Everywhere! (The Signs are There!)
Hi isazdkkein Readers! Here’s a nice little life snippet from David Broadbent, a father of three girls in Perth, Western Australia. He’s too busy recording his kids conversations to blog, but he has put 389 of those conversations into a book www.extrafingers.net.au. Enjoy! – L. SIGNS, SIGNS EVERYWHERE by David Broadbent Isabella, after we’d made it […]