Hi Folks! Last week was a double-header media week for Free-Range Kids. First KTRK, the ABC affiliate in Houston, did a story on the movement and the reporter, Ilona Carson, totally got it: Our goal is not to put kids in danger, it’s to put danger in perspective. Wait’ll you see how Ilona wraps up the piece by comparing other childhood dangers to the chances of a kid being kidnapped. I never saw that on any news show before! Her piece is right below.
Below that is an interview I did with Sun News TV in Canada about the mom who wants the local school to cut down its oak trees out of consideration to allergic kids. The host, Anthony Furey, really gave me a chance to speak and was also on the side of common sense. What a week!
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Love the stats! My church just announced we’re moving toward “Safe Sanctuaries” and I’m very disappointed. Completely unnecessary.
Huh. A stopped clock *can* be right twice a day, eh?
I never thought I’d see a day where I’d be cheering SunMedia on… *laugh*
*thumbs up*
You are awesome!
You had to know it was just a matter of time Lenore? 😉
You’re really making a difference, Lenore.
However, you should look into getting a suspension for your microphone because it is picking up a lot of “handling noise” every time you touch the table.
The SunMedia one was great! He really gave you time to make your case. Keep up the good work!
Yea!!
We are going to see a lot more of this. The pendulum is swinging the other way. People are wising up to the ridiculous scare mongering.
Well done Lenore
Is there anything we can do to show our support for these outlets of sanity?
Great to see this! Awesome job, Lenore!
Yay!
Gotta love that last remark on the first video, though. “Is she right or is Lenore Skenazy endangering Our Children?”
How could anyone’s opinions endanger somebody else’s children? The worst Lenore could do (not that she is) is endangering her OWN children.
It’s just another example of ‘worst first thinking’: Lenore has some ideas about parenting gets ‘translated’ into ‘because of her ideas EVERY PARENT in America will put their child into terrible danger’ and then into ‘unless we Act Now OUR CHILDREN will surely DIE!!”
Sheez!
Lenore,
Requests and demands by the overprotective are getting so over the top that the public in general are starting to see it.
The woman that wants the trees cut down made a grave mistake. To spare her allergy challenged children she essentially is taking on the tree hugging enviromentalists. It is great to see two of the biggest pain in the butt groups going at each other.
Keep up the great work, Lenore.
Wow, a reporter who gets it……I’ll even overlook the fact that he can’t pronounce Lenore’s last name correctly. It’s not “Sken-AH-zy,” it’s “Sken-AY-zy.”
Great interviews – I’m glad they both gave you a chance to speak, and that they really seemed engaged in the discussion – active listening for the WIN!
I think Donald’s right; I think the Skenazy Philosophy is starting to reach more than just us nuts. It will take a while to disburse into the “Administration” clan.
My child’s school is a nut-free zone, which is bothersome. I thought it was a lot to do over nothing, but then had a chance to talk with a pediatrician, who convinced me that children in 2012 DO get allergic to peanuts.
(My hunch/intuition here is that American kids are raised TOO hygienically, being hunkered indoors on the couch, and that this is the ultimate cause of more physical sensitivity/asthma, etc.).
It’s a hassle being a nut-free zone. We originally could not bring snacks/cookies/treats with nuts, and now an Onerous Administration refuses ANY home made goods. . . which is tough. My son and I wanted to bake some pretzels and the first thought was making up a bunch for his class, of course nutfree—then came the memory of the Heavy Hand of our (Wiser than Us) Administration and its latest diktat.
Lenore, you need to team up with Richard Louv or Michael Gurian and write a book on the demonstrated physical benefits of being outdoors and free.
PS: my son just got a new bike, and of course, it’s really something; we let him pedal around town on it the other day on his own. He’s nine; I used to pedal all around the western suburbs at that age, and I know he can do it.
Not to mention that the “children” in this case are, in fact, teenagers, who should be able to keep themselves away from things that trigger their allergies.
I have to say it, it was just one paranoid girl scout leader that wouldn’t let her girls roast marshmellows. There is nothing in the offical guidelines that prohibits allowing girls to cook on a fire and as leaders we are supposed to encourage them to do so. Otherwise, I loved both videos and thought you were great!
@Suzanne: I wonder where that girl learned to be paranoid? hmmmm. lol It’s exactly as Lenore mentions, and basic human psychology, what parents teach their children, or what children pick up from their surroundings, is what they end up developing into. So if they are taught to be fearful, they WILL be fearful.
Wow. That was a surprise about ABC news. I’m glad they actually did that segment. Why not use one of the main tools that got parents to be fearful in the first place, to revert them back to common sense thinking. I just hope the owners of the station doesn’t start firing people, because they are reporting non-paranoia news, their bread and butter. Also enjoyed that Sun News segment. Always glad to hear like minded people, put things in perspective at the expense of people who don’t think. We aren’t trying to make fun of helicopter parents, they just make themselves looks so ridiculous, that we can’t help but laugh at them. lol
@Suzanne–No, marshmallow-roasting isn’t BANNED in Scouts/Guides, but in Canada, it qualifies as a “yellow-level activity” (green = safe, yellow = somewhat risky, red = significant risk), so if you want to do something like that, you have to send an “activity plan” with the list of participants and supervisors (adhering to the required “safety ratios” for each age group, of course), and an emergency response plan, two weeks in advance, and it has to be approved by both the safety assessor AND the Guides’ parents before you can go ahead with it. The Guide leader in question probably just didn’t want to jump through all those hoops, and bought Marshmallow Fluff instead.
Well, first the networks make you afraid to go outside. Then they tell you how bad it is inside! It’s win/win!
“Is your child being smothered by your helicopter parenting? Details at 11.”
Marion – I noticed that about the ABC segment as well. Everything seemed to be going well until they cut back to the anchors, who ask one of the those awful leading questions: Is Skenazy endangering our children?
I really liked how the ABC piece compared it to other risks at the end. People need to be shown that kind of graphic that puts it in perspective.
Good job, Lenore. Keep up your good work. It looks like your message is slowly starting to sink in.