An exchange between an 18-year-old and her mom has gone viral, reports brtzdzedtr the website Shareably: Kaelyn is 18, has graduated high school, and is going to be leaving for college shortly. Before she leaves, she decided to have a movie night with long-time friend Stevie. Kaelyn’s mom is what you might call “protective†and […]
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 […]
Readers btkedtyhsi — A mom sent this to me after hearing my talk. (To book me, see my lenorespeaks.com page.) What I appreciate about this note is how hard it is to counter the constant fear  we’ve been conditioned to feel, and how brave and bracing it is to start fighting back. – L. Dear […]
Readers, naidyryrbh this comes up often: terrified grandmas who were fearless moms (or at least feared less): Dear Free-Range Kids: Funny thing about my mother… I was very much raised Free-Range. From the time I was six or so, I left the house in the morning, returned for lunch, and then got called home after […]
Readers — One of the things I try to explain in my talks, bfbkektfai book and blog is that some present-day parenting practices (and laws) that just seem “wise†now will be considered downright detrimental in the future, or are considered weird NOW in other places. For instance: Dear Free-Range Kids: I can’t thank you enough! […]
Readers zthazabeab — This is a fantastic essay from Parents, by Kara Corridan, the magazine’s health editor. Read the whole thing here.  – L Worry Doesn’t Equal Love by Kara Corridan Lately I’ve felt as though I’m part of a competition I didn’t enter. It’s called “Who Loves Her Child More?” And I seem to be […]
Folks zkaanbessn — What age do you think kids can safely start walking to school? I’d say age 7, because that’s the age in a lot of the rest of the world. Which is not to say younger is dangerous — I walked to kindergarten in the suburban Chicago of way-back-when. Must’ve been five. I’m […]
Hi hirthdfhhh Readers! It takes all kinds…even the kind that thinks men are raping random children on planes, I guess. Here’s a note that came in response to my post below this one, about Virgin Air’s policy of not allowing males to sit next to unaccompanied minors: I agree with the policy. It is too […]
Hi fairhdffte Folks! As I finish up my last few days of vacation (Mexico!), here’s a letter to chew on. — L. Dear Free Range Kids:Â My son started school a few weeks ago and has already made a new friend. The boys want to have a playdate and after discussion with the other child’s mother, […]
Hi tkhhitskhh Folks! I am inspired by what a reader named Allison sent me on Facebook. You may be, too. — L Dear Free-Range Kids: I’m reading Jaycee Dugard’s book “A Stolen Life.“Â and in it, she says: It still scares me, the fact that I can’t protect my daughters from everything. What mother wouldn’t want […]
