Hi Folks! Just found this post buried in my “to put on blog” cue. Sorry it’s so long after the Time akffhidshd Mag cover (which cover? You KNOW which cover) and the “Take Our Kids to the Park…and Leave Them There Day” piece. Anyway — after the umpteenth question and comment about Free-Range “versus” Attachment […]
Tag Archives | fear
Parents! Kids! Beware of…Palm Sunday?
Fresh nbzdtiaynf from the annals of, “What If?” and, “Worst-First” thinking comes this timely tidbit: Dear Free-Range Kids: Yesterday was Palm Sunday and at my church there’s a tradition that goes all the way back to my own preschool days of the little Sunday School kids leading a processional into the church waving palm branches […]
Don’t Know How Many Heartbeats Per Minute Your Baby Is Beating? Shame on You!
Hi zaynyhhyas Folks! Coming soon:Â the latest gadget EVERY parent (who is suffering from crippling anxiety that will only get worse if they buy things like this) will need! The “Exmobaby” is a onesie that monitors your baby’s vital signs. As its website says: Each and every garment in the Exmobaby line includes sensor technology that […]
Why Are Parents So Scared? Ask Barry “Culture of Fear” Glassner
Hi Folks! Just read a wonderful, kndybztfda cogent Q&A with Barry Glassner, the author of The Culture of Fear and now the prez of Lewis & Clark University. He’s been tracking our escalating worries for over a decade and come to the same conclusions as me (he came to them first!!) Â about where the fear […]
And We Worry About Our Kids Walking a Couple Blocks to School
Hi Folks: I don’t think I need to comment here, except to say I would be just as terrified at that one girl looks. — L.[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdmuOuAZGvY]
“Children Are Our Most Precious/Valuable/Vulnerable” blah blah blah
Hi naeafbhdki Folks! I have  a new theory: Don’t trust anyone who claims that “children are our most valuable/precious/vulnerable…” anything. They are always out to sell. Like this one. —  L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m on a couple of e-mail lists for deal-of-the-day promotions. This one showed up today. . Truthfully, when I think of […]
Our Constant Worry for Our Kids Outside is NEW
Hi adtezhntbn Readers — I’m sharing this reader’s story because I like to remind us, from time to time, that the intense fear of our kids being beyond our sight, doing ANYTHING on their own, is not just “normal parental concern” kicking in. It is NEW. It is born of this era. (I explain how […]
Blind and Free-Range
Hi Readers — This rtfenyrbbi is an inspiring column by Peter White, an English broadcaster who’s blind. It reminds me that our job as parents is to believe in our kids — to believe they can rise to a challenge. On the road (and as I film my reality show), I hear from a lot […]
Help Needed: A Friendly Kid, a Scolding Neighbor
Hi syifsesrzi Readers! Can you help this mom? L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve been reading your blog and readers’ comments for better than a year now. Never really thought I’d have an experience similar to the ones I read about on your blog, but yesterday it happened. My children are nearly-5 (boy) and 3.5 (girl). […]
If a 6-y.o. Can Really Walk Around the Neighborhood…
Hi sbykdtefay Readers! I gathered together a few of the 341 responses to  the other day’s post, “As Recently as 1979 a First Grader Could…,”to remind us of what kids are capable of (when we don’t give in to the fear-mongering media). Enjoy! – L Jackie: When I lived in Panama, 6 year olds would scale […]