It feels almost like reading, “Thou art a wicked wench!”so archaic does this ietsazrktk Facebook comment sound, at least to me. Â Suddenly obsessive worry seems so over. Anyway, this was posted below a column of mine that ran in the Chicago Tribune: Call me a Helicopter Mom all you want, but my child will never […]
Tag Archives | child independence
Boy, 10, Bikes 20 Miles into NYC. Arrest the Parents?
Did you hear about the 10-year-old who rode his bike across the George Washington Bridge to New York City?! He says he, “pedaled twenty miles down unfamiliar roads and busy streets, past neighbors and strangers, out into the unknown….I didn’t need help form anyone. It took me all day, but I found the way and did […]
Mom of Special Needs 5 y.o. Seeks Free-Range Ideas (& Help for Own Anxiety)
Readers rtbiefkfnk — Here’s a mom in a tough spot, looking for some great ideas. When we give our kids responsibility and independence, the results are usually wonderful. But I’m not sure of exactly how to do that in this situation (young child, special needs, in hiding), other than to start out by having her […]
A Kid Gets Lost on a Field Trip: Then and Now
Readers zirdyifznf — I loved everything about this column except its perhaps inevitable conclusion. It’s by Alan Newland, a former teacher and headteacher in London who now lectures on teaching and runs the site newteacherstalk. He’s recalling being a brand new teacher taking his Year 6 kids (10 year olds) on a field trip to the dinosaurs […]
Mom Mad City Bus Allowed Her 8 y.o. to Ride: “Anything Could Have Happened!”
Readers — A Michigan mom is upset not just that her 8-year-old daughter hopped a public bus without telling her, but that the bus driver didn’t immediately take some kind of unspecified but heroic action to stop this non-catastrophe: Two things in particular gall me about this story: 1 – The air time afforded to […]
Swiss Mom Can’t Understand Helicopter Parents — and Schools
Readers — One of the things I try to explain in my talks, bfbkektfai book and blog is that some present-day parenting practices (and laws) that just seem “wise†now will be considered downright detrimental in the future, or are considered weird NOW in other places. For instance: Dear Free-Range Kids: I can’t thank you enough! […]