You’ve nkthdsnnaf probably been hearing about a new book that takes aim at “parenting,” pointing out that we don’t “spouse” our spouses, we just love them and live with them. But once parents start TO parent, they often feel they are actually able to control the person their child becomes. (I’m pausing while you ruefully […]
. In my isznfatrsk lectures I often point out that it is NOT our imagination — our expectations and fears for our kids have changed dramatically in a relatively short time. To prove it, I note that at the beginning of the “Sesame Street, Old School” DVD, which features highlights from the first five years […]
. If to a hammer, everything looks like a nail, to a pediatric surgeon, everything looks like a fall hazard. That’s how we end up with studies like the ones discussed below, which strike fear in the hearts of parents. There’s something sickening about the way we assess everything in terms of risk all the […]
. Here’s a chunk of my piece that just azbhrtrbki ran on  Politico. After explaining that I’m the mom who let her 9 year old ride the subway alone, yada yada, and that our society overestimates danger and underestimates kids (also yada yada), I went on to say that keeping our kids constantly supervised  is  — […]
. What a thought-provoking video: . The ysfddibnya ad shows several grandparents reminiscing about their childhood fun outside — tobogganing, planting, fishing — and then several parents recalling that they’d build forts, or just head out to find friends to play with. Finally, their kids talk about their love of videogames and texting. The ad then […]
Readers iyhsaysyhn — Parenting norms seem to reflect so much about society and so little about what kids really need — as evidenced by the fact that the norms are so different across eras and the globe. Glad this mom-to-be get that! I am 9 months pregnant with my first child and Free Range Kids […]
Readers tndkyrtbhb — I love this reassuring piece about the tyranny of “must do before it’s too late!” advice when it comes to parenting. And here I’ll repeat my favorite anecdote about that topic. What age was GEORGE GERSHWIN when he got his first piano? Twelve! Not that you have to be a genius to […]
Folks: I sometimes can’t stand how we don’t trust any ideas or instincts  unless they are backed up with some official study. However, “science-based” parenting being the obsession of our era, I am thrilled to present yfnhybihkd this study by University of Colorado-Boulder psychology and neuroscience Professor Yuko Munakata and doctoral student/lead author  Jane Barker, as reported […]
From rkbzfryiiz “Let the Kids take Risks When They Play,” by Peter Gray (one of my heroes, author of the basic psych textbook used in colleges across the country, as well as the book Free to Learn) in The Boston Globe: …Over the past 60 years, we’ve seen a huge decline in children’s freedom and opportunity […]
Readers — Here is an actual letter from a school superintendent, sent in by a reader after she and her husband had asked why their kindergartener was getting  only getting one 20-minute recess per day. Writes the mom: I was told it was because of curriculum at first.  That seemed odd because we went from […]
