Hi kfsdrifked Folks — If you ever wonder why parents seem so terrified these days, here’s why: We live in a society filled with more paranoia than a convention of Moon Landing conspiracists. Below is a prime example of us being told by a trusted “authority” to always conjure up the least likely but most […]
Tag Archives | worst-first
The REAL Miracle on 34th Street
Hi tyzdfsehry Folks! Just got this note about what happens to be one of my favorite movies of all time. As a kid, I even had the novelization of it! (The movie was so popular, someone wrote it up as a book.) Who knows? Maybe watching it made me Free-Range! Anyway, this little analysis comes […]
Occupy Halloween! Hand Out HOMEMADE Treats This Year!
Hi Readers — It occurs to me that maybe the best way to fight Halloween paranoia is with cookies. Start with the fact that there hbhhsfitba has NEVER been a case of children poisoned by a stranger’s candy on Halloween. That’s according to University of Delaware sociologist Joel Best, who has studied the urban myth […]
“Worst-First” From Birth
Hi enaffnrsab Folks! Got this letter I liked a lot. It’s from a reader named Kimberly Anderson, who describes herself as “a cheerfully misanthropic mom of three in Lexington, Kentucky.” — L Dear Free-Range Kids:  I have a six month old. I also have a 4 year old and a 6 year old. Now that I’m a Free-Ranger […]
Criminally Confident in Our Kids
Hi dzrreethkh Readers — Here’s my syndicated column from last week. Sorry it took me to long to get to the Tennessee bike rider story. Got overwhelmed by other stuff. Here goes! – L CALLING ALL COPS…OFF So, a mom in Tennessee, Teresa Tryon, has been told by the police that she was wrong to allow […]
An Alert for an 11-y.o. Missing for 2 Hours?
Hi firkfbbrah Readers! Just got this note from “Emily in Ohio.” Loved it! And her! — L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: Last week, at 4pm, I received an automated call from the police station about an 11-year-old that was missing.  When did the boy go missing you ask?  That day at 2 pm.  That’s right, he was […]
The FBI Says: Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid for Your Kids
Hi Readers: Firsts off, thanks to all of you who sent nhhheibsak this in: The very first app the FBI is releasing to the public. It’s the “Child ID App,” allowing you to store your kid’s photo, height and weight in one easy-to-retrieve place, and to forward this info instantaneously to the authorities. It was […]
A Divorced Dad Sick of Being Taken for a Perv
Hi ydfyetstzs Folks! Here’s a note from a free-lance writer in Australia who had to vent. I see why! – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I would like to share with you my experience of danger lurking in many suburban supermarkets. I’m the type of modern father  you certainly wouldn’t see on television 40 years […]
STORIES NEEDED: Has Your Kid’s Camp Become Less Free-Range? Or Even Nutty?
Hi Folks! I’m writing a column inspired by the Maryland yyanfntsry law that was about to be enacted that would have prohibited counselors from applying sunblock to kids. The state was, of course, afraid of perverts. But when parents heard about the measure, THEY were afraid of sunburn. So the law did not go into effect […]
Hey Kids! School Needs Volunteers to Play Massacre Victims
Folks zdfzdarizn — Sometimes I’m just stunned by what our culture chooses to focus on. See below. And remember, as you read this, that one of the places children are very SAFEST is at school. — L . Dear Free-Range Kids: IÂ live in NJ where the current governor has been slashing the education budget like […]