Are You An Okie? Okey-Dokey!

Hi Readers — If any of you are Free-Ranging in southwest Oklahoma (and I know you’re out there!) please drop an email to reporter Billie Hill — bhill@lawton-constitution.com . She’s looking for your stories to write about the Free-Range idea, locally. Thanks! — L

And While We’re on the Subject of Dangerous Toys: Dan Akroyd!

Oh I am so glad a reader named Abe sent this in. A Saturday Night Live classic:
http://bit.ly/4Egetr

Do We Really Have To Worry About Kids Impaling Themselves on Batman Dolls?

That, my friends, is the question I ask today in my alternate life on ParentDish.com. I am really getting sick of all the warnings about dangerous toys.
On a very related note: Today there was a report about all the hideous dangers of holiday  ornaments. I agree: You probably don’t want to put a hand-blown crystal ball [...]

If a Man Photographs Your Kid with Santa Should We Arrest Him?

Hi Readers — Here’s the latest story of a guy, a camera, a warm little Santa scene at the mall…and an arrest. Apparently Scott Rensberger, an award-winning news photographer who has covered conflicts as far away as Bosnia, was at his local mall in West Virginia with the camera he always carries with him. He [...]

One (Frustrating, Makes Me Want to Yank My Hair Out) Conversation At A Time

Hi Readers — Here’s a letter I got yesterday. It hit me in the gut because this woman just went through the same process I think a lot of us go through daily: Trying to deal, calmly, with the knee-jerk response of, “That’s too dangerous!” to any suggestion that kids can do anything on their [...]

Outrage of the Week: Mom Who Let Kids Play Outside Threatened by Cops

Hi Readers! Let’s give this woman some good ideas. She needs them — as do we all!
Dear Free-Range Kids: My name is Shaylene Haswarey, and I want to share a story with you today.
This morning, my doorbell rang, and two police officers were present.  They asked me if I am the mother of my children, [...]

Thought For The Day

From a reader named Delicate Flower:
“The closest my kid has ever come to losing a finger in the Maclaren was while I was trying to install the stupid hinge covers.”

Inspiring Video!

Hi Readers! Even as the school board in Saratoga grudgingly allows kids to bike to middle school if they follow a bunch of rules, a bunch of kids in Orlando, Florida just decided: Let’s ride!
Here’s their story and a great video of them — especially if you like Bob Dylan soudntracks. As the accompanying article [...]

Give the Gift That Keeps On Giving (Hint: Not the Bratz Kids Snap-On Swimming Mermaid)

Hey folks — swing over to ParentDish, my new gig, if you want to read, “The Greatest Gift of the Season: A Free-Range Childhood.” And happy holidays, while we’re at it! — Lenore

Overprotecting Gone Mad: Kids Finally Allowed to Bike to School, BUT…..

Hi Readers! Remember that case  in Saratoga, New York, where a sixth (now seventh) grader wanted to ride his bike to his school — with his mom, even! — but the district forbade it?
Well guess what? The district poobahs have now “backpedaled,” as this clever Times Union article put it. But they did it in [...]