Goodbye, 2024 – but first, a quickie look back at the forces that were allied against Free-Ranging last year. And then? A hairpin turn to hope! Worst first!
Child Reported Walking: As, ahem, I was the very first person to report, Georgia mom Brittany Patterson was charged with “reckless conduct” when her son, 10, walked to town (pop: 370) without telling her. Cops handcuffed Brittany in front of her kids and threw her in jail – which is not reckless conduct at all. Now Child Protective Services wants Brittany to track her son at all times. Because walking could, theoretically, lead to bicycling.
Child Reported Bicycling: “The police were called because my 8-year-old was riding her bike on our street,” Kentucky mom Kay Eskridge Reported. The cops said a woman had called them, “upset that a child was outside.” Reason enough for law enforcement to get involved! Because biking could, theoretically, lead to frolicking.
Child Reported Frolicking:Obtained this year, the four-page Montgomery County Public Schools Playground Supervision Recess Procedures for Playground Aides states (among other things) that recess monitors must “caution children if it appears that emotions and excitement are mounting to a point where incorrect actions may soon result.” You certainly don’t want kids to feel excitement mounting! It could lead to something really crazy – like exploring!
Child Reported Exploring: British TV star Kirstie Allsopp let her son, 15, take a 3-week rail trip around Europe with his pal, 16. When she Tweeted how proud this made her, she was reported to Child Protective Services. A caseworker told Allsopp her file could remain open another 10 years, in case she does anything else warranting an investigation. Like, theoretically, allowing her son to get sunburnt.
Child Reported Sunburnt:J.D. and Brittney Lott travel across America with their 8 kids, Instagramming their adventures. An anti-Christian Reddit group trolls them. When the group saw baby #8 looking reddish, they called CPS to say the Lotts were abusing him. CPS ordered the family to report for immediate medical inspection or a national manhunt would commence. All 8 kids passed with flying colors, which proves that if you don’t want CPS on your tail, do not marry someone named Brittany/Britney.
Children Warned About Trees:Toronto has banned tobogganing on 45 hills, as these might have “hazards such as trees, stumps, rocks, rivers or roads.” Understandable! No one wants kids outside where there are trees.
Children Constantly Watched:The $100 billion child tracking device market is now expected to reach $500 billion by 2030, according to trend watchers. Parents are demanding panic buttons, fall detection, and apps that automatically unlock the door for their kids, or turn on the lights. That way kids are spared the difficult job of getting into their homes without adult assistance.
Children Trying to Hide:A study found that time spent in college dining halls is down 40% as anxious students are eating alone in their dorm rooms. It’s the next best thing to eating in the back seat on the way to soccer!
Children Driving Parents Nuts: The Surgeon General’s “Parents Under Pressure” report found that parents are much more miserable than others the same age. If only parents could get some time to recharge by, say, sending the kids out to walk, or bike, or toboggan or…
Children? Fuhgeddaboudit. A Pew study about parent/child relationships found that almost half of people under 50 who don’t have kids said they’re unlikely to ever have any – a number that rose 10% in just five years. Why? “57 percent said they simply didn’t want to have them. Women were more likely to respond this way than men (64 percent vs. 50 percent).” See above.
BUT, THERE IS CAUSE – ACTUALLY, FOUR CAUSES — FOR HOPE!
Children Encouraged to Explore:“Independence Therapy” could revolutionize childhood anxiety treatment. An article in the prestigious Journal of Anxiety Disorders by Long Island University Psychology Prof. Camilo Ortiz demonstrated the mental health benefits of independence. And it was inspired by us — our free Let Grow Experience program, now used in 1000+ schools!
Children Encouraged to Be Children: Jonathan Haidt’s huge bestseller, The Anxious Generation, recommends “4 New Norms” to help kids. #4 is: More childhood independence, responsibility and free play. The book recommends Let Grow right and left — perhaps because Haidt is a co-founder of Let Grow! It also recommends more states pass Reasonable Childhood Independence laws, as 8 have done. We’ve got another five or six in the hopper for 2025!
Just Plain Bragging: On May 10, this was a Jeopardy Question: “Lenore Skenazy, who wrote of letter her 9-year-old ride the NYC subway alone, moved this term from raising chickens to raising kids.” Just sayin’!
