Readers eniesfanrb — This is just a fascinating artifact from the world of Worst-First thinking, where folks believe today’s children are completely besieged by criminal masterminds (or at least the last of the phonebook users) Â who are driven in equal measures by rank evil and a love of intensive research. It ran as a letter […]
How should the tragic news of a 10-year-old Hailey Owens’ abduction and murder change us? For sakkiredtk me, it will mean feeling sickeningly sad for her and her family. Â And beyond that, it will mean a call for… Nothing. Not more laws protecting kids — there are already laws against murder. Not more police on […]
Readers — I found this video pathuriating. That’s my new word for pathetic + infuriating. (No, I don’t expect it to catch on.) I tzriznethk asked my friend Shelly Stow, who works to dispel predator panic, to articulate what’s so bad about this thing. She writes: I’m not sure what it’s designed to do. Terrify […]
Readers — To keep children “safe” from all those strangers who slither in on Election Day, some trfsrsehiy schools no longer want to serve as polling places. This prompted me to write the song “Strangers in the Schools” to  Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night.” I asked you to send in video versions for a contest. The winner […]
Readers — This McSweeney’s tdftyfhefi post by  Beth Levine and Liz Dancho is soooo good. It’s called “Parenting Tips I Learned from Law & Order: SVU” and includes such advice as: Don’t raise your kids in New York City. They will end up running their own adult website and spending all their money on video games. […]
Readers — When kids are going through their scared-of-the-dark phase, they see the chair and think it’s a monster. And when adults are going through their “Everyone is out to get our children” phase — Â (From The dbhfkksire Daily Mirror.) Children were evacuated from a swimming pool amid fears of a pervert in the changing […]
Readers,  I’m sure that plenty of people think that it is a GREAT idea to stage the mock abduction of a child and then get all the local crime fighters involved. But not me. Staging an event like this makes it seem as if stranger abductions are common, or at least on the increase.  In fact, they […]
Readers ezkazbkdse — Tomorrow one of my favorite magazines of all time, Highlights, will unveil the results of its 2013 “State of the Kid” survey. It should be really interesting (and, often, funny). Meantime, here’s a look at the answers to a question I got to suggest for the magazine’s 2011 survey: “What do you think your […]
