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Hunt, Gather, Parent, Get Chewed Out by The Cops for Letting Your Kid Walk...
All hail Michaeleen Doucleff! She’s author of the incredibly great, life-hacking, eye-opening book, “Hunt, Gather, Parent.” She and her daughter Rosy traveled the world to witness the parenting...
View ArticleLet’s Hear It For Talking to Strangers!
What a fantastic study: Research recently published in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology found that when people are prompted to talk to a stranger, surprising things happen: They start to...
View ArticleWashington Post Scares Parents Needlessly
Stunned joy is what most of us felt when we learned that Charlotte Sena, the 9-year-old abducted while riding her bike in upstate New York, has been found and returned to her family — alive. The...
View ArticleThat Pediatrics Article about Declining Childhood Independence Causing...
This article in the Journal of Pediatrics — Decline in Independent Activity as a Cause of Decline in Children’s Mental Wellbeing: Summary of the Evidence — has been getting a ton of attention in the...
View ArticleTeens 18 & 16 Had Consensual Sex. The 18-year-old Went to Prison for Six Years
When Henry was 18 he had sex with a 16-year-old he met on a dating app who said he was 18, too. The 16-year-old’s parents found out, called the cops, and Henry was charged with a sex offense. He took a...
View Article50% of Parents Won’t Let Their Kids Go to Another Aisle in Grocery: Poll
Most parents believe it’s important for kids to develop independence in their elementary school years by doing things “away from direct adult supervision,” according to a new survey by the University...
View ArticleThe Switch Witch Must Go!
The New York Times columnist Jessica Grose has a plea for all of us adults: Stop Micromanaging Halloween. It’s a trend that’s been growing like the Great Pumpkin ever since from back when *I* was a...
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Something Unspeakably Awful May Have Almost Practically Happened to a Child!
“A mother’s worst nightmare almost came true in broad daylight after a man may have tried to lure her toddler daughter in a residential area.” . Gee, that’s a lot of hedging for the first paragraph of...
View ArticleWhat Hath Liam Neeson Wrought?
Today’s pithy comment comes in response to yesterday’s post about a mom sick with fear because a man (!!!) was in the vicinity of her daughter. Nothing happened. And yet – because the press is so eager...
View ArticleThis Thanksgiving, Be Thankful for Strangers!
As we approach the holiday of gratitude, here’s a little reminder that “stranger-danger” gets it wrong, and we should be grateful for all the humans looking out for kids. This video (click here) was...
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Hello Muddah, Hello, Faddah — in The Smartphone Age
Remember (or not!) the classic Allan Sherman song, “Hello Muddah, Hello Faddah,” the letter from an unhappy camper? Today’s post involves something remarkably similar — except it’s updated. And it’s...
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Thank You Garry Trudeau for Today’s Free-Range Kids Edition of Doonesbury!
Doonesbury sums up a whole lot of our themes — and gives us a name check — in today’s funny pages! In case it’s too small to read, here’s what it says: Alex Doonesbury (born Nov. 30, 1988, daughter of...
View ArticleWant Students to Succeed Almost Every Possible Way? Start a Play Club
Michael Hynes is superintendent of the Port Washington, Long Island School District, just outside New York City. He’s also a Fulbright Specialist, TEDx speaker, author of “Staying Grounded: 12...
View ArticleDon’t Tell Kids That Someone Could Grab Them
A childcare worker in Texas dropped a line with a story — and a request: Dear Let Grow: You helped me a few years ago when the state wanted me to get rid of my rope swing, which the kids in my...
View ArticleA Child Anxiety Therapist Recommends Parents Push One Particular Thing
And you probably guessed what that thing is: INDEPENDENCE! Kids need more of it! It’s an anxiety buster! Regine Galanti, PhD is a clinical psychologist and founder of Long Island Behavioral...
View ArticleA Mom Reads Her Kids the Children’s Book She Loved…And They Go “Meh”
This seasonal post comes from Kobi Nelson, a high school teacher in Denver with a Ph.D. in Education. Kobi enjoys life with her husband, two kids, and cat named Bear. Uncertainty and Growth in “The...
View ArticleThe 10 Worst Free-Range Parenting Stories of 2023 — And One That Will Give...
Roll your eyes, shake your head, scream “That stinks!” and go to bed. Or, if you prefer, read on: NON-EXISTENT DANGER IN AISLE 3 A University of Michigan survey of parents of children age 9-11 found...
View ArticleWas This an Attempted Kidnapping? Or Not?
Folks — I can’t tell if I’m overly trusting or if the world is the opposite, so please weigh in: The story is that a man, 64, shopping with his wife at a Florida Walmart, grabbed a 4-year-old’s wrist...
View ArticleHow to Worry Less About Very Unlikely Dangers: Some Tips!
Did you know that January is Mental Wellness Awareness Month! Woo hoo! How can you celebrate? Get mentally well! That can be a challenge, especially in an era that can seem hellbent on creating new...
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Of Cars and Kids and Playing Outside
Kids running around and playing outside till the streetlights came on. That was Charles Brewer’s childhood — and dream. To make it happen in modern-day America, he developed Glenwood Park in Atlanta,...
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