Hi Readers: Just got this note today and had to share it, not just because it is so upbeat and hopeful, but because it is one hell of a marketing piece! Give a mom my book and she, too, can experience the joy that comes with watching her kids grow happy and self-reliant!
Dear Lenore: I love your book! I used to worry about what people thought of me for having my kids stay home alone for an hour and a half till I was done with work, or when I wanted a quick and quiet trip to the store, but it has made me realize how much more independent they are compared to other kids! Reading your book gave me the idea to stop paying for a cab to drive my kids to or from school when I’m working ($40/week) and let them walk the 1.5 km from the bus stop to home. They love the walk (through a park) and were even willing to walk from the school (about 4 k) to save the money. Now I am giving them 2 bucks a walk for saving me the money spent on a cab.
Thanks for giving my parenting style a name: Free Range! — Tara (in Canada)
7 Comments
I requested that Free Range Kids be among the books on the local bookstore’s gifts for mom table. The older lady that looked up the book was impressed. She agreed with the example in your book on being overprotective since we live in the hickory nut town in Connecticut.
Positivity! I love it 😀
Great 🙂 Now you just need to establish that a freeranging walk home from school is its own reward 🙂
Don’t forget to educate/street proof them. 🙂
It would be interesting to know many truly bad things have ever happened to children walking or biking to school who were with 2 or more friends.
My guess would be that it’s a VERY LOW number.
Then compare that to kids hit by cars driven by parents who were driving their kids to or from school.
I’m so Free Range that I ordered a copy for myself as a Mother’s Day present. The hubby can do flowers or have our baby make me a painting or something, but I took matters into my own hands to get what I *really* wanted!