Free-Range Kids

Foreword xi
 
Introduction to the Introduction xv
 
The Actual Introduction Already xvii
 
1 Know When to Worry 1
 
Play Dates and Axe Murderers: How to Tell The Difference
 
2 Turn off the News 11
 
Go Easy On The Law and Order, Too
 
3 Avoid Experts 23
 
Who Knew You Were Doing Everything Wrong? . . . .
 
Them!
 
4 Boycott Baby Knee Pads 35
 
And the Rest of the Kiddie Safety-Industrial Complex
 
5 Don't Think Like a Lawyer 47
 
Some Risks Are Worth It
 
6 Ignore the Blamers 57
 
They Don't Know Your Kid Like You Do
 
7 Eat Chocolate 69
 
Give Halloween Back to the Trick-or-Treaters
 
8 Study History 81
 
Your Ten-Year-Old Would Have Been Forging Horseshoes
 
(or at Least Delivering Papers)
 
9 Be Worldly 95
 
Why Other Countries Are Laughing at Zee Scaredy-Cat
 
Americans
 
10 Get Braver 107
 
Quit Trying to Control Everything. It Doesn't Work
 
Anyway.
 
11 Relax 121
 
Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact
 
On Your Child's Development
 
12 Fail! 133
 
Easy! Educational! Fun!
 
13 Lock Them Out 145
 
Make Them Play--Or Else!
 
14 Listen to Your Kids 157
 
They Don't Want to Be Treated Like Babies
 
(Unless They Are Still Crawling, Etc.)
 
15 Take the Long View 167
 
Wasting Time Is Not a Waste Of Time
 
16 Trust Strangers 179
 
Even the Folks Who Put the Faces on the Milk Cartons
 
Aren't Too Worried
 
17 De-Fang Anxiety 191
 
Independence Is the New Prozac
 
18 Embrace (Some) Tech 207
 
We All Scream for iScreens
 
Calling All Educators 223
 
Conclusion 243
 
Acknowledgments 249
 
Sources 251
 
About the Author 263
 
Resources and Connecting 265
 
The Free-Range Kids Card 267
 
Index

LENORE SKENAZY: After her column "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone" created a media firestorm, Lenore got labeled "America's Worst Mom." Nice. She turned around and started the Free-Range Kids movement, lecturing around the world and hosting the reality show, World's Worst Mom. Now she's President of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence.

"Lenore and I bonded over crows and kids. This book is only about one of those, but it's still great. Hopefully she'll get around to a book on crows someday."
--Dax Shepard, host, Armchair Expert
 
"A bubbly but potent corrective for the irrational fears that drive so many parents crazy."
--Dr. Robert Needlman, co-author, Dr Spock's Baby and Child Care, 9th Edition
 
"This book transformed the way I think about childhood, parenthood, freedom, and fear."
--Kim Brooks, author, Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear
 
"eirdly, I love this book! To begin with, it's laugh-out-loud funny. Plus, Lenore and I share a big belief: Kids can do so much more than our fearful culture thinks they can."
--Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor, author, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother and Political Tribes
 
"Free-Range Kids is the best kind of manifesto: smart, funny, rigorous, sane, impassioned, and bristling with common sense. If you'e a parent, or planning to become one, read this book. You have nothing to lose-apart from your anxiety."
--Carl Honoré, author, In Praise of Slowness and 30 Days to Slow
 
"It still amazes me it took an activist like Skenazy to decriminalize activities I took for granted as a kid. I felt lucky to discover Skenazy while my kids were still young. I hope subsequent generations will benefit from her work."
--Bethany Ball, author, What to Do About the Solomons and The Pessimists
 
"Free-Range Kids makes the perfect baby shower gift."
--Nancy McDermott, author, The Problem with Parenting
 
"Moral insight without moralizing--how rare is that?"
--Amity Shlaes, author, The Forgotten Man
 
"Lenore Skenazy is a national hero."
--Mary Roach, author, Fuzz, Stiff, and Bonk
 
"Read this book--Mommy said you could."
--Penn Jillette, Penn & Teller