Signing My Kid Into and Out of School is Like Getting a Visa to North Korea
This comment was in response to yesterday's post about making kids anxious about unlikely dangers. It will resonate with anyone who ever had to sign in to their kid's school as...
About Those Needles Found in Halloween Candy This Year
The day after Halloween a reader named Brian wrote: Dear Let Grow: Help!! I've attached a link from our local "news" about a parent who brought her kids to trick-or-treat...
“Your Kids Could Die in 20 Seconds in the Car Alone”
The book "How Fear Works" is a gripping account of how we have come to think that whatever could POSSIBLY go wrong (no matter how extremely unlikely) has an actual...
Mom Investigated for Letting Her 8-Year-Old Walk the Dog Speaks Out
Corey Widen, mom of two in hometown of Wilmette, Ill (and neighbors with my friend since middle school -- who was NOT the person who called the cops!) writes this...
Why are kids getting anxious -- so anxious that a CDC survey found 32 percent of teens reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness? NPR asked two authors who turned...
It's expensive, exhausting, and it has very little to do with actually playing and having fun. That is why the number of American kids age 6 to 12 participating in...
This Is Not Neglect. Not a Crime. Not Abnormal. WE Are Abnormal
The idea that kids can't do anything alone till they're 29 is NEW, as this vintage ad reminds us. A young child could run an errand, talk to an adult,...
How Dare the News Report This Non-Event as an “Attempted Abduction at Rest Stop”?
The headline is terrifying: Mother gives warning after attempted abduction at rest stop And yet the story is anything but. See if you feel the same. 10TV.com in Columbus, OH,...
What Does It Mean When 8-10% of School Absenteeism Is Due to Child ANXIETY?
Read this piece and you will see why it is SO NECESSARY to get kids doing some stuff on their own besides just homework, Instagram and structured "college-bound" activities. ....
Dear Media: Stop Reporting “My Kid Was Almost Sex Trafficked!” Facebook Posts as News
Dear News Media: Yesterday while jogging, I noticed a squirrel on my neighbor's lawn. I got to my driveway and THERE HE WAS AGAIN. I am POSITIVE he was plotting...
The Shockingly Simple Way to Stop Helicopter Parenting
Even if you want to stop worrying about your child's safety any time they are beyond the front lawn (or on it!), we live in a culture driving us nuts...
My kids' public school released kids from homework a few years ago -- a move met with some pushback. As the NY Daily News put it: Parents Outraged After Principal Dumps Homework for...
