Hey Readers!! Here’s sarsadbeke great news! The school in Davidson, N.C., that had suddenly prohibited fifth graders from leaving the school on Fridays to walk down to the village green has reversed itself! On Friday, even as a big bunch of kids and some parents marched to “Occupy the Green,” the new principal (not the […]
Hi tkbaberzyd Readers — This mom wrote to me wondering if what she just experienced is normal. I’m wondering, too! — L. Dear Free-Range Kids:Â I have a situation perhaps your readers can help with. Â Yesterday my daughter came home from playing at the “new” neighbor’s house with a 4-page liability waiver that they want us […]
Hi ykayadfakb Folks! Here’s a great article from the L.A. Times about one of our recurring themes: The dumbing down of playgrounds to the point where they are, well, pointless. The writer, Gale Holland, reports: Last fall as state inspector strode into Great Beginnings preschool and declared the tree house and climbing structure too high. […]
Hi nbrbiasnhh Folks! Just got this disturbing little note from reader Jeff Johnson who, I am happy to say, is writing a book about the importance of play. — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Just wondering how much you’re hearing about the death of games like tag on school playgrounds. I volunteer in a local kindergarten […]
Hi Readers! Get a load of this dnhsrtibfb — little kids in Australia have been found guilty of violating graffiti laws with their chalk drawings on a sidewalk outside a cafe. This might not be such a Free-Range issue except for this: Mayor Ben Stennett visited the cafe yesterday as anger mounted. Almost 200 people […]
Hi Readers: Use this instead of coffee to get your heart pounding on a Monday morning: A tree house that has been delighting children in the Bondi neighborhood of Sydney, Australia, for six years could be torn down soon, says the Sydney nsiainyibs Morning Herald: Made by a builder, the Bondi cubby has attracted complaints […]
Simple as that. A four level tree house is coming down by the end of the week.  Here’s hydzzkitfs the story, from over in Australia. I get that it’s a liability. All tree houses are. I just wonder when and how society will ever get back to accepting SOME risk, now that even the tiniest risk […]
![Simple as that. A four level tree house is coming down by the end of the week.  Here’s the story, from over in Australia. I get that it’s a liability. All tree houses are. I just wonder when and how society will ever get back to accepting SOME risk, now that even the tiniest risk (and [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=freerangekids.wordpress.com&blog=3396577&post=3163&subd=freerangekids&ref=&feed=1" />](https://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=freerangekids.wordpress.com&blog=3396577&post=3163&subd=freerangekids&ref=&feed=1 "Town Tearing Tree House Down")
Simple as that. A four level tree house is coming down by the end of the week.  Here’s the story, from over in Australia. I get that it’s a liability. All tree houses are. I just wonder when and how society will ever get back to accepting SOME risk, now that even the tiniest risk (and […]
Hi tfdbzarbri Folks! I was reading this blog post about product-recall-mania today and nodded along with so much of it, I asked the writer, Julie Colwell, if I could post it and she said sure. So here it is, slightly edited: Micromanaging Moms 101, by Julie Colwell, from her blog, “The Mother Load.” So, in […]
