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 that half will not let their kids go to another aisle at the store to get a few items. […]
Archive | 2023
A 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 Story of Holly and Ivy” The first time I encountered The Story of Holly and Ivy was when my Great-Aunt gave me the book […]
A 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 Psychology, a private practice in Nassau County. She’s also the author of many books on anxiety, most recently, Parenting Anxious Kids: Understanding Child Anxiety […]
Don’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 childcare program love. I also run an after-school care program at my local […]
Want 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 Principles to Transform School Leader Effectiveness” — and a big part of the documentary “Chasing Childhood.” Please Note: Hynes graduated in the bottom 10% of his […]
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 Mike and J.J.) is at her computer. It’s dinner time and she’s wondering where her […]
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 real. It comes to us from James Frank’s Wild Nature Adventure blog. “Ranger James” started and runs the Lure of the Wild Nature Camps in Catonsville, Maryland. […]
This 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 sent to Let Grow by Rosalie Witt, an early childhood instructor, consultant, and coach in Connecticut who helped us pass that state’s […]
What 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 for any story of a child in peril – it reported the “incident” with the gravity usually reserved […]
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 an article. Something ALMOST, MAY HAVE happened. Yikes! But so begins a “news” story on KHQ, a news […]