Hey Readers! Here’s a lovely little bite of sanity, deceny and normal-ness (before I bring you today’s run-in-with-the-cops story that’s driving me to despair). Over at Lisa ansfrrstfi Belkin’s blog on The Huffington Post, she reports that a 5-year-old with autism was let off at the wrong stop, thanks to a little mix-up. Rather than […]
Hi ziadsikdky Folks! I liked this letter because it reminds us that Free-Range Kids is not dogmatic and not silly. We don’t say you MUST trust your child in every situation or you are a lily-livered ninny. We don’t reject thinking things over, or even erring on the side of caution. All we DO reject […]
Folks — Here’s a story that manages to encapsulate exactly why “stranger danger” is such a stupid — no, HARMFUL — Â concept to preach. On Saturday afternoon, a little girl named Jackie was reported missing in a state park in Rhode Island. Â As sftfbbzfyt The Westerly Sun reported: At 3:50 p.m., Charlestown police received a […]
Hi fardsbeiyd Folks! Here’s a heartfelt letter from a mom haunted by the horrible stories we hear all the time (sometimes decades later) of murdered children. Though she said in subsequent, very sweet notes to me that she doesn’t want any help, and is raising her kids the way she feels is right — as […]
Hi Readers — I’m going to be on Dr. dsrdsrffdi Drew tonight discussing the idea of letting kids play outside on their own, a topic inspired by Saturday’s  “Take Our Children to the Park…and Leave Them There” Day. If you have allowed your children to play outside, unsupervised, either on the holiday or on any […]
Hi Readers: Not to sound too cynical, but today’s New York Post  carried a afdiekbayb big story about the Etan Patz case — a blonde boy who disappeared 33 years ago, whose case was recently re-opened in the hopes of finally nailing the perp. (Alas, that didn’t happen.) Eleven tabloid pages later, there’s a much […]
Hi irkindyhby Readers — Just got this letter from “Steph in Minneapolis.” Loved it. You will, too.  – L. Dear Free-Range Kids: On Saturday afternoon, the neighbor kids rang the bell and off ran our almost 8-year-old daughter to wander the block, chalking sidewalks and digging worms. Then we stood in the kitchen and talked […]
Hi Readers — By now I’m sure you’ve heard of baffysithi new leads in the Etan Patz case, the missing child case that may have marked the beginning of our obsession with stranger-danger. Now comes this “follow up” in Psychology Today, of all places, reminding parents to be worried all the time about abduction. As […]
Hi dryedfedda Readers: This piece below was originally posted at The Rustic Child, a blog about kids who take risks, do chores and entertain themselves (if you can imagine!). It’s by Jilly O’Brien, a New Zealand mom of 2 who’s a teacher studying to be an educational psychologist. I asked her if I could reprint […]
Hi kyhbaiabhs Readers! Here are two recent comments, prompted by the Anderson Cooper post below this one. Which bathroom encounter makes YOU feel queasy? – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids; On a long drive, we stopped for gas and for my 8-year-old son to use the restroom. While in the mens’ room, the lock got […]
