What Age Can Kids Start Walking to School?

Here’s my take on the issue, published in Sunday’s Chicago Tribune. Some of it will sound a little familiar to Free-Range Kids regulars, but it bears repeating:  Most of the world’s kids walk to school by themselves starting in 1st grade. But here? Are you kidding? While the majority of us parents walked to school, [...]

Hey White House Honchos: Your Country Needs You More than Your Kids!

Note to White House budget chief Peter Orszag: You are completely, dangerously deluded. Not about the economy! (Or maybe you are — I can’t say.) But you definitely are deluded about your job as a parent. And so are a bunch of your buddies. A recent article in The New York Times, “‘Family Friendly’ White [...]

Outrage of the Week: Dear Abby!

Dear Abby: I have a problem. I read a supposedly “helpful” advice column yesterday about public bathrooms and whether children are safe from pedophiles if their mom is waiting right outside the door. The piece said no! No way! As a matter of fact, it added, slightly off tangent, “Children have been violated in a matter [...]

A Fleeting Thought…

Super scary predators. Innocent victims.  Great ratings. Anyone else get the sneaking suspicion that Shark Week is just a fish version of Nancy Grace?

New Feature: Free-Range Kids Movie of the Week!

Hi Free-Rangers! Daniel Bigler, a pre-school teacher/Children’s Studies major in Spokane, Washington — and the blogger behind Danielsaurus.com — has taken it upon himself to find us some inspiring  movies. “The premise,” he says, “is simple. Each week we go out in search of a fresh movie either for or about kids that keeps in line [...]

Reviews, Anyone?

Just shows how much you can learn from Twitter. I just read a Tweet that had this remarkable revelation: When you ask people to review your book — they do! Or some of them do, anyway. So — call me a fruitcake — I’m thinking of doing the same thing for Free-Range Kids: Giving Our [...]

Has Anyone Seen My Son?! One Mom’s Story

Hi Readers! Here’s a story most of us can relate to, from mom of two Kelli Oliver George, whose funny, addictive blog is Rancid Raves. I LOST MY SON AT THE FAIR, BUT I FOUND HIM — SUPRISINGLY! NOT by Kelli Oliver George I thought about Free-Range Kids long and hard last night when I [...]

Speaking of Paranoia…

Here is a great quote, lifted from The Week (my favorite magazine*), which lifted it from David Iganatius in The Washington Post. It points out  that we have gotten so used to thinking in terms of preparing for the very worst, the very least likely scenarios, that that we don’t realize how overbearing (and often dumb) our safety [...]

News Flash: Kids SAFER Than We Think!

Kudos to the Kansas City Star and reporters Eric Adler and Emily Van Zandt for their FRONT PAGE article yesterday (sent to use here by many readers – thanks!): “Statistics tell parents that the world is not so dangerous for their children” Listen to this! Despite the trepidation that naturally arises when releasing our kids [...]

Free-Ranging in Less Obvious Ways

Hi Readers! This essay, from Leah R. Weiss Caruso, talks about the less visible side of Free-Range parenting. The part about letting our kids learn from their mistakes — and giving them the freeom to make mistakes at all. One of the chapters of my book is called, “Fail! It’s the New ‘Succeed!’” Leah, a Cleveland [...]