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    Controversial? Us?

    Hi Readers and gollllly. Here I thought we’d cornered the market on commonsense. But according to the megasite Babble — and its wonderful list of the 50 top mommy bloggers — Free-Range Kids is the “Most Controversial” parenting blog of 2009.  If you visit the Babble list, please feel free to click on the “I Like This Blogger” doodad next to our mention.

    Maybe Free-Range is still a little controversial. But next year it’ll be the most mainstream. — Lenore

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    32 Comments

    1. Sandy on

      Well, as they say in show business…”it’s an honor just to be nominated”??????

      I love your blog. For what it’s worth.

      Blessings,
      Sandy

    2. Joette on

      The way I see it, that’s a step up from “Worst Mom Ever”. Congratulations!

      On an off topic (but not completely) note: DH and I let the little man — who is 8 — stay home alone last night while we ran out to get a couple of stocking stuffers. I’ve been prepping him and had done a couple of quick runs to the convenience store, but this was the first somewhat extended stay. 45 minutes later we came home and he was playing Mario Kart. He must have referred to himself as “the man of the house” about 10 times after we came home, he was that proud of himself. What a great night.

    3. EV on

      You controversial? Ok. Sure. As Cullen Hightower said so well: There are people who can talk sensibly about a controversial issue; they’re called humorists.

      Congrats!

      EV

    4. kradcliffe on

      I don’t think this blog is controversial, it just makes people think a bit.

      I think the most controversial parenting site ought to be mothering.com: the web site that has killed babies. But, they do a pretty good job of deleting message board posts and hushing things up. Luckily, there are some sites that have screen shots and there is even a list of babies who have died due to the “advice” of a bunch of idiots who insist that nature should have her way in every circumstance.

    6. Vi on

      That’s exactly what brought me to your site! I was curious about what was the most controversial. And I love your blog! I completely agree, and now I have a name to describe these beliefs against over-protective parenting.

    7. Shelly on

      This just kills me. In one generation, letting your kids play outside without a parent hovering went from normal to controversial. I never knew I was so edgy.

    8. Blake on

      As I learned in my communications classes, no kind of publicity is bad, especially if the word “controversial” is used.

    9. tana on

      i knew it was controversial, because when other moms and i get into conversations about parenting style and children’s freedom (or lack thereof), i’m often defending my ideas alone to the polite chorus of, “that does make sense, but i just can’t take a chance with little _____. it’s just so scary.” ha! way to gently tell someone, “it makes sense for YOU to endanger your child, but MY child is far too precious for that!”

    10. Rich Wilson on

      “the moms of our controversial list get points for generating lots of chatter with every post” I think they’ve confused ‘controversial’ with ‘popular’.

    11. BornFreeMom on

      I found you through that list although I first read about your blog on MotherTalkers.com. Really interesting concept. I’ll be looking for your Dr. Phil clip on YouTube.

    12. Helen on

      tana – Just remember when they say “that makes sense but … It’s just too scary.” while they may be thinking their kid is more precious, what they’re really saying is – “I don’t consider myself responsible. I don’t want to make a decision I might be held to account for. Easier to go with the pack so if something goes wrong I can hide behind group think.”

    16. neener on

      My fave blog and blogger are “controversial”? Awesome! My record as Alternative Hippie Weirdo Mom remains unblemished! And my polar opposite, completely normal, so-clean-cut-people-think-he’s-military husband has embraced FR parenting to the point that he’s telling anyone who will listen that his wife’s latest interest is actually PERFECTLY SENSIBLE! 🙂

      Lenore, I hope the holidays are golden for you and yours! Thanks for being the voice of the movement, giving it a name, taking the heat, and giving the rest of us a place to congregate, discuss, and learn from each other.

      We’re at the tipping point – I can feel it.

    17. Karen on

      “it’s the dose of reality they need to come back from the edge of lunatic attachment parenting. ”

      Love it … and that about sums up why I read here 😉

    19. js on

      hey-

      keep up the good work and remember:

      1. you’re ignored
      2. you get made fun of
      3. you are attacked
      4. you win

    20. RadiantLux on

      I posted a comment for you:
      “I believe our culture is infantilizing our children by preventing them from doing simple things for themselves, such as walking or biking to school. If we look at how our parents and even how we were raised, there was a lot more freedom and responsibility. Just think of how resourceful the kids in the Great Depression were! We are PARALYZED by fear of what could happen without taking into consideration what will happen if we don’t teach our children to fend for themselves. There is too much helicopter parenting – hovering over our children. It negates their capability and they learn how to be helpless. Giving children permission to make mistakes requires we let go of our fears. Lenore Skenazy calls us back to rational thinking and common sense. Thank God for Lenore!”

    22. Alison S. on

      Opinions are controversial; facts are simply facts. There will be less use of that C-word as more people come to SEE the facts where previously they believed they were simply hearing opinions.

    24. Renee on

      Never thought of this as a mom blog, simply because so many individuals have an interest in this subject. Not everyone can relate to post-partum depression and changing diapers, but everyone is concerned for our society as children and teenagers need to acquired social/survival skills to be become mature responsible adults. Sounds ironic but as parents, is it not our obligation and duty to be eventually unnecessary in our child’s lives?

    26. Dawn on

      some comments are interesting…
      I found this website through mothering.com 😉
      We are attachment parents AND free range…it just makes sense to us to allow our children to remain attached as long as they like and then follow their cues when they want to be released into the world.

      This site controversial? Nah! not for me!

    27. sylvia_rachel on

      I think it’s awesome that you made the list 🙂

      I do take issue a bit with the blurb’s assertion that FRK is necessary because of too much attachment parenting. I consider myself both an attachment parent and a free-ranger, and I think the two are more complementary than not (I blogged about the connections here), and I think pretending they’re mutually exclusive, as I’ve seen a number of people (not here necessarily) do, is not useful.

      But otherwise, WTG Lenore! 😀

    28. The Mother on

      Damn. And I thought it was me.

      Keep up the good work. You deserve a medal. Not for controversy–there shouldn’t BE any controversy!–but for sticking to your guns in the face of woo, superstition, stupidity and timidity.

    29. Phoebe on

      I also found this site through mothering.com… And I love this blog. Thank you for letting me know I’m not alone! MIL is a helicopter parent, their youngest kids are 14 and they are not allowed to walk out of sight of their house w/o a grown-up watching them. Oh wait, they’re not allowed out of the house at all!

    30. SKL on

      Lenore, I love your blog, but why are your posts showing up so long after their alleged posting dates? I check your blog at least daily and only just saw the 12/23 and 12/24 articles. Would love to follow you in real time.

    31. Rich Wilson on

      SKL- perhaps your browser is caching the page? I get her posts via an RSS feed to my google home page, but any RSS reader would work. I think she announces them on Twitter as well.

    32. david everett on

      I was researching pedophilia and came across your site. I remember your newspaper columns, i always liked them.

      Guess what the Google ad above the list of your blogs tagged with “pedophilia” was! “471900 registered pedophiles. Does one live near you? Search Now!”

      Anyway, Lenore, you have 850 people that liked your website in the list of the top 50 mommy bloggers, more than any other! I am so glad for the breath of fresh air in our paranoid fear culture! Keep up the good work Lenore! : )