I Thought This Was a Parody

Hi Readers! I wish this WAS a joke: A mama’s rant with about 100 “Amen!” comments after it, that basically makes the case for clinical paranoia. Commendably, the blogging mom believes that her child IS safe an aisle away from her at the grocery store. Stranger danger, especially in a public place, is exceedingly rare, [...]

Give the Gift of Childhood!

Hi Readers! If you’re wondering what would make a great gift for your kids, or some other kids you love, how about giving them back time outside, and playdates that they make on their own, and the thrill of doing something — anything! — on their own? My book, Free-Range Kids, can help. (And it’s [...]

“Law & Order” & Its Special Victims: Us

Hi Readers — I wholeheartedly endorse this note! Dear Free-Range Kids: Recently I started watching hours of “Law and Order SVU” (streaming live on Netflix for graduate students wanting to procrastinate!) and it’s really quite absurd to watch after a year of following your blog. The episodes where there is a child abduction or attempted abduction [...]

Outrage of the Week: Students Denied Recess Due to Snow

Hi Readers — Here you snow. er, go, from Scotland, via news.scotsman.com: CHILDREN have been banned from playing in the snow during break times at city schools due to health and safety fears. Pupils in some primaries have been kept inside during their morning and lunchtime breaks since the schools re-opened on Wednesday.The decision to [...]

Spread the Joy of the Season with “Toothprints!”

Good Morning, Readers: Wondering what to get those parents on your list? Dear Free-Range Kids: I thought you might be interested to see this.  A local dentist was advertising this service. http://www.yoursafechild.com/parents-toothprintsr.html Now if your child’s body is found but so decomposed that it can’t be identified visually, you can use “toothprints” to record his/her dental [...]

Good News! Beloved, Fired Santa Triumphs

Hi Readers! Remember Santa John, the guy we were talking about here yesterday, fired for an “inappropriate” joke or two he told some ADULTS? Here’s the update, from a San Fran gal named Kathlin: I wanted to share some good news in reference to this story!  It was on the news last evening that there [...]

Are More Kids Depressed Because They’re Too Clean?

Hi Readers: Let kids eat dirt? Yes! At least, that’s my take-away from reading this thought-provoking article. It discusses the work of Emory neuroscientist Charles Raison, MD,  who studies the link between cleanliness and depression. His hypothesis is that maybe young people are experiencing more asthma, allergies and even depression because they are less exposed to the benign [...]

A Charlie Brown Potential Abduction

Hi Readers — A note from a friend, Mark Clark: “Lenore, is it too late to report a crime that first occurred in 1965 and is repeated every year?  Charlie Brown’s parents allowed Charlie, and his buddy Linus, to go to the tree lot in their town UNACCOMPANIED BY ANY ADULT and purchase a tree [...]

Outrage of the Week: Beloved Santa Fired for a Joke

Ho Ho Grrrrr, Readers: If I had a sleigh, I’d be on my way out to the Macy’s in San Fran which just sacked its beloved Santa, despite the fact he’d been doing the gig for 20 years. Some folks even made special trips just to visit the man known as “Santa John.” But then [...]

Man Enters School, Uses John, Leaves: “We Decided NOT to Put School in Lockdown.” Gee: Why Not?

Oh Readers —  I can’t take it. Look at this crazy “news” story from the Cortez Journal in Colorado: An unidentified man entered a high school. He used the bathroom, left and asked some students to give him a ride, which they did.  Said the paper:  No weapons were visible on the man, who was [...]