. When I spoke at the Velo-City innherftyy Conference in Austria a few years back, the speaker before me declared that  helmet laws are so cumbersome and they make biking seem so scary that instead of keeping kids safe, they’re simply keeping kids from biking. Well that shocked me. I’ve always loved helmets and insisted […]
Tag Archives | bike to school
Follow-Up to the “No Children Can Walk Home” Story from Magnolia, TX
. Fox 26 Reporter Andrea astirzynhn Watkins wrote what I consider a masterful letter to the school district that has forbidden parents from coming onto school property to pick up their children and walk them home. (It does seem to allow them to wait until all the car and bus children have left — a […]
What Happened When I Asked My Kids to Bike to School
. Michelle rkezfkyfzk Millet lives in Davis, CA with her husband, two kids and…some bikes: Riding to School All On Their Own by Michelle Millet In August, with my daughter entering sixth grade and my son entering third, I decided this would be the year my kids started to make the 2-mile bike ride from […]
Daycare Says They Will Report Me for Getting My Kid to School on My Bike
. What is most pernicious about our judgmental society is illustrated below. Just because you — or I — might not choose to transport our child to school the same way as this mom, that does not make her a menace. And disagreements should remain disagreements, not an excuse to sic the authorities on a […]
Divorced Dad Asks: Can Ex-Wife Force Me to Overprotect My Child?
. Here’s stkhirtrdt one of the occasional letters I get from divorced parents who see their child’s safety differently: Dear Free-Range Kids: I hope you can help me or provide me with some recommendations. I have a court date on October 6th in which it will be discussed whether I can let my 9-year-old daughter […]
Want Safer Kids? Send Them Into Traffic
. There are two ways to approach a risk: Try to spend your whole life avoiding it, or learn how to deal with it. In Germany, when it comes to kids, the authorities seem to be voting for Option B. Here’s a letter from a mom over there: Dear zkbzbtkbde Free-Range Kids:Â Finally took a photo […]
“Students are Not Allowed to Ride Their Bikes to School” — Help Needed
Ok, hibzatsrbn readers: MORE advice needed. This time on how to persuade a school that it is being crazy excessively protective. Dear Free-Range Kids: I am so very upset right now and would love to have your (and other FRK readers) advice. I emailed the elementary school principal, asking where my son can park/lock his bike. […]
Could Your Town Get Kids Walking to School Like This One Does?
Readers — Enough with the craziness. Let’s leave on a high note with this video, below. And a shout out to my neighbor, Clarence Eckerson, Jr., for making it! Lakewood, renzhianft Ohio: The Suburb Where Everyone Can Walk to School  by Clarence Eckerson, Jr. The inner Cleveland suburb of Lakewood (population 51,000) calls itself a “walking […]