Hi Readers! I got this note and, in addition to being appalled, I was angry. The 10 year old in the story is literally being scared out of his wits by his mom. By”wits” I mean his brain, his senses. His mom is teaching him never to employ those, but to automatically go straight to [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Uncategorized, Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car | Tagged: abduction, doctor, paranoia, sense, stranger danger, waiting room, wits, worst-first | 127 Comments »
Hi Folks: Sometimes you have to post a story just because…you know it’ll go viral. Check out Frosty the Snowman getting arrested! And here’s the news story about it. The reader who sent this to me lives in the state where it occurred, Maryland, and writes that, “… for the record, this is not a really [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: arrest, catalog, eckstein, fake, Frosty, LL Bean, parade, snowman | 32 Comments »
Hi Folks! Here’s my piece that ran in last week’s Wall Street Journal. You will recognize some of my examples! – L. Ten is the new two. We live in a society that insists on infantilizing our children, treating them as helpless babies who can’t do a thing safely or successfully without an adult hovering [...]
Filed under: Bad Laws, Rules and Verdicts, Uber Safety, Uncategorized, Walk to School / Stay Home Alone / Wait in Car, Worst-First Thinking | Tagged: Amtrak, infantilize, train | 94 Comments »
Filed under: Marketing Madness and Gadgets, Uncategorized | Tagged: infantization, label, lawsuit, legal, warning | 28 Comments »
Hey Folks — Just a clip you might enjoy. (Or not.) — L.
Filed under: Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Uncategorized | Tagged: candy, stranger danger, van, Woody | 20 Comments »
Hi Readers! This essay by Jennifer Carsen originally ran at her blog, Mommy Tries, which bills itself as “Bringing you good-enough parenting since 2010.” – L. . Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve been wondering, “WWLD” (What Would Lenore Do?) My daughter Lorelei was on the swings at the playground today, loving it as usual, when a [...]
Filed under: Crazy Parents, Eek! A Male! (and Stranger Danger), Uncategorized | Tagged: overprotection, paraoia, playground, stranger, stranger danger, swings | 112 Comments »
Hi Readers! I have a feeling many people can relate to this comment (which came in response to “The Drop-Off in Drop-Offs” post). I know I can — something very similar happened to me. L. Dear Free-Range Kids: My daughter is a sophomore in high school. I also have a 3 year old and am [...]
Filed under: School and Zero Tolerance and Bullies, Uncategorized | Tagged: school, legal, rule, administration, drop-off | 283 Comments »
Readers — This letter means so much to me. It’s from a mom in Massachusetts, reminding us that Free-Range isn’t just an idea. It is real. It can change lives. (And it believes in barefoot kids.) — L. Dear Free-Range Kids: Imagine my surprise as I looked out the second story window only to [...]
Filed under: Child Protective Services, Uncategorized | Tagged: change, freedom, going Free-Range, helicopter, liberation | 174 Comments »
Hi Readers — I thought this was just a great observation of how our kids-in-danger society is changing what it means to be a child — and parent. It’s by Matt Wall, a full-time stay at home dad of two boys, former software geek, part-time baseball umpire and Coast Guardsman — as well as “a recovering [...]
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tagged: coach, drop-off, helicopter, legal, litigious, playdate, soccer, sports | 171 Comments »
