. What an honest — and funny! and sad! and exhilarating endorsement of Free-Range Kids by veteran journalist Philip Lerman. His piece appears on the CNN Website: A ikkteybktz HELICOPTER DAD EMBRACES FREE-RANGE PARENTINGÂ by Philip Lerman Two separate events occurred on our family’s beach getaway this summer. One, my 13-year-old son rode a Jet Ski […]
Tag Archives | helicopter parent
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 […]
“Send The Beloved Child on a Journey”
. Usually I don”t have the patience to watch an 8-minute video, but this one fascinated me: . . The zeekaarfba two families — one Japanese, one Australian — are obviously hand-picked and hence not a random sample. But Japan DOES trust its kids out and about at an early age, and clearly this is […]
Are Helicoptered Kids More Depressed at College?
. This excerpt ifythziknb from Julia Lythcott-Haims’ new book, “How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kid for Success,” is more than viral. It pleads with parents to step back and let kids make their own decisions  — and mistakes: The data emerging confirms the harm done by […]
What Hath Overprotection Wrought?
What happens when a generation grows up being told that they need constant supervision because nothing is safe enough? That they should never encounter a bad grade or mean remark, it’s too wounding? That they didn’t lose, they are the “8th place winner!”? At least a slice of them become convinced that they are extremely […]
Too Scared to Let Your Kids Walk to the Store? So Were The Parents of These Two!
Jim hnhfyiayrz Epstein at Reason produced this video, which shows how quickly a family filled with fear can flip: The whole exercise — really very simple — is based on the fact that, left unchecked, fear just grows. But if you do let your kids do something on their own that they’re ready for, you […]
When Schools Do the “Free-Range Kids Project”
On sbzziryasb my show (3 episodes air tonight starting at 5:30/4:30 Central Time on Discovery Life), I give the children of very anxious parents a task to do that they seem ready for — even if their parents aren’t. They walk to school, make dinner, ride a bike. And usually, when the parents see their […]
App Alerts Parents if Their Kid Skips a College Class
You’re only young once, but our culture seems determined to make sure that childhood lasts into middle age, if not senility. To wit: There’s a new app, Class120, that pings parents when their kids don’t show up for their college classes. NBC reports: Class120 ehdndyzati works with the help of GPS or WiFi. The campus […]
I’m Not a Helicopter Parent — I’m a Helipad
Note yaiktryehy the name: This post comes to us from Katie Johnson Slivovsky, not Sikorsky. Katie has written pieces for Newsweek, Illinois Steward, and Chicago Parent.  She works at the Chicago Children’s Museum and lives with her husband and two teens in Western Springs, Illinois. – L I’m a Helipad Parent, by Katie Johnson Slivosky  If […]
Uh, Girl Scouts, Isn’t This Form a Little Harsh?
This is the form handed out at the troop my friend sends her daughter to: Girl hdkikisssi Scouts may only be released to persons authorized for their care. It is necessary as a parent/guardian of a Girl Scout to complete this form and return it to the responsible Girl Scout adult before or at the […]