FAQ

What is “Free-Range Kids”? You have been dubbed “America’s Worst Mom” by the media. How did you earn this title? Were you a Free Range kid? How can you tell if a kid IS “Free-Range”? What prompted you to found the Free Range Kids movement? What is a helicopter parent? Why were our parents different […]

Were You Ever a Bully? No Job for You!

Hi Folks! Too soon to know if this is a trend or just an outrageous blip, but over in New South Wales — the Australian state Sydney is in — the authorities have passed a law that if you’re under 22 and want to work in one of the local “clubs” (that is, casinos), you […]

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK: Cops Threaten Mom for Letting Son Play Outside

Hi Readers! This mom, Kimberlee Morrison of kimleeisawesome, needs a pep talk from all of us — and perhaps some legal advice. You’ll see why. L. Dear Free-Range Kids: I’ve been warned. Literally. By the police. My son left the park, went to El Pollo Loco and asked for water. A stranger asked him if […]

ANNOUNCING MAY 22: “TAKE OUR CHILDREN TO THE PARK…AND LEAVE THEM THERE DAY”

Hi Readers : You read it here first! Free-Range Kids is officially declaring Saturday, May 22 — the weekend before Memorial Day– the very first, “Take Our Children to the Park… And Leave Them There Day.” What?! Just that. If our goal is to get kids back outside (it is), and playing together (it is), […]

A Funny Video about Online Predators? Yup!

So I just  read yet another article about how to protect your child from all the perverts sliming around on social media, like MySpace and Facebook. Hooey. I’m all for protecting kids from crime and creeps, but the advice had it wrong. Both the Crimes Against Children Research Center and Harvard’s  Berkman Center for Internet […]

Kids are the New ’50s Housewives (Stuck at Home “For Their Own Good”)

In the 1940s, women were working in factories, doing all the jobs men did — and earning their own keep. After the war, they were suddenly told: What on earth are you doing here? The outside world is too dangerous for you, you sweet, silly creatures! We’re only saying this for your own good. You can’t make it out here. Go home!

Which sounds remarkably like what we are telling kids today. Kids who, just a generation ago, were perfectly capable of making their way in the outside world — babysitting, playing in the park, walking to school — are now being told: What on earth are you doing our here? The world is too dangerous for you, you sweet, silly creatures! We’re only saying this for your own good. Go home! (Or, alternatively, “Go to soccer practice, which we will drive you to and pick you up from.”)