Tag Archives | fear

freedom hand

Why Are Millennials So Afraid of Freedom? I Think We Know

An extremely insightful and rather frightening op-ed idksbniybt in yesterday’s New York Times looks at why Millennials are “so wary of freedom.” It’s by Clay Routledge, a professor of psychology at North Dakota State University, and it cites stats about how the younger generation is less convinced that democracy or free speech are good ideas.  […]

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Son, that is dangerous in every single way!

How Helicopter Parents Needlessly Scared My Anxious Son

We can’t control the busybodies out there (sigh). But this mom wonders how can we get them to stop interfering with our kids’ sense of safety — especially if our kids are anxious to begin with: Dear sfrnbiekbz Free-Range Kids: I have always been a Free-Range parent/educator and for me, it’s about common sense and […]

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There's a difference between helicopter parents and the mentally ill.

“What Was Your Worst Experience as the Child of Helicopter Parents?”

. Riveting thread riarktazze on Reddit: “Children of Helicopter Parents: What was the worst or most embarrassing thing they put you through?” Particularly interesting is the idea that the parents described below are simply “overprotective.” They sound much more seriously ill than that. We live in a society that almost INSISTS we overprotect our kids, […]

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Finding other Free-Range Parents makes it easier to relax.

How To Arrange a Free-Range Parents Meet-Up

. This extremely helpful post comes from Rachel Howe, a writing teacher and mom in South Philly, where she started the South Philly Parents Resource Center. What she’s describing sounds like a sort of “consciousness raising” or support group, without the heavy title. Dear ehrrzbsdir Free-Range Kids: I’ve got three children to chase after (and […]

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Watch out for that potential predator, kids!

Why the “No Touch” Policy at Schools and Camps Makes No Sense

. This sneyydtfrn letter I got yesterday reminds me of one of the most thorough, fascinating, damning study I’ve ever read about where the “No touch” policy comes from (and why it is unnecessary, and how it actually makes us all MORE afraid for our kids): So those sex crazed pedophiles have invaded the Girl […]

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Is it okay to panic while Free-Ranging?

Is It Okay to Free-Range While Privately Freaking Out?

. A reader eftkiihkyt writes: I want to be a Free-Range parent.  I really really do.  I do try.  Just last week I told myself to stay calm before saying anything to a parent who had allowed my son to swim in her pool before I arrived at a birthday party.  There were 12 kids in […]

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