Hi bzhtfdhyah Readers! This note comes to us from Nandini Ramakrishna, who was raised Free-Range in India and now lives in Phoenix, AZ. She writes the blog Cactus Chronicles. and tweets at CactusChron. – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Four years ago, I was involved in an incident where the state questioned my competence as a parent. After two […]
Tag Archives | CPS
6-y.o. Who Walked Alone to Post Office May be Removed from Her Home
Readers dzekeeyahn — This is the continuing story of the 6-year-old detained by the cops for walking outside. It is disturbing and distressing. The family needs pro bono legal help. If any of you are lawyers or know someone who can help, please let me know and I will forward the info to the family. […]
CPS, Sesame Street and Six-year-olds Outside
Folks, when I posted the letter sbdsfbaksd from the dad whose 6-year-old was picked up by the police — and DETAINED — for walking solo in her neighborhood, one of you said that stories like this make you worried to let your kids go outside. Which is exactly the opposite reaction I was hoping for. I […]
Cops Detain 6-year-old for Walking Around Neighborhood (And It Gets Worse)
Readers ysyhekiknb — The story below makes me so sad and so angry, and you will see why. If anyone at Child Protective Services or the police department would pick up a single book written before predator panic swept the country, they’d see that 6-year-olds were always part of the neighborhood scene, scampering, playing, or […]
“Please Tell Me I’m Not Crazy” Says Mom Who Left Child Unattended a Few Moments
Hi ifbhdriktf Readers — Can you EVER leave your child unattended for a few minutes in a public place? That’s today’s big question. – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: Last night I took my 5-year-old son and almost 3-year-old daughter to Taco Bell. High class, I know. The restaurant was pretty busy, about five full […]
Stop Criminalizing Parents who Let Their Kids Wait in the Car
Ah, tasirartta readers, you know this is my bugaboo: the idea that the authorities (cops, CPS) know better than PARENTS whether or not a child is safe waiting for a short while in the car. I always want to ask the busybodies who summon the police, “Do you really think it’s safer to drag a […]
My Kids Are Not Allowed to Play Outside (So Now They Are In the Mobile Home with Me)
Hi aiiasrfhff Folks — This letter has me  down, but not nearly as down as the writer. When the authorities start to believe the world is worse than it is and hence that kids are less safe than they really are, naturally they see independence as dangerous. Free-Range Kids exists to spread the word that […]
Outrage of the Week: Mom Arrested for Letting Her Kids, 11 & 7, Walk to Pizza Shop
Yes, readers, it’s another case of child protective craziness. According to the drntdkyzzf Manchester, Conn. Patch, a local  mom was charged with “risk of injury to a minor and failure to appear after police say she allowed her seven-year and 11-year old children to walk down to Spruce Street to buy pizza unsupervised.” And according […]
The Latest Trend: “Alcatraz Parenting”!
Hey Readers! ALCATRAZ PARENTING. Let’s popularize that term, okay? We need it, because we’re getting to the point when children are monitored by GPS, cell phone and camera in ways prison wardens can only dream of! Check out this ad:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkLi2HM0KAg] The mom says she  has cameras “in the playroom, the living room, the kitchen. And from […]
This is NOT a Crime! Cops Charge Dad Who Let Kids Play Alone in Park for 2 Hours
Readers! As we approach our third annual, “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day” (Saturday, May 19), this nfyaisndkn story is outrageous. Apparently a dad let his two kids, ages 6 and 9, play in a local suburban Pittsburgh park on Saturday morning for not quite two hours while he did some […]