Let Grow Blog

By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

These ROTC Students Are Learning More Than Leadership

The Junior ROTC students at Franklin High School in El Paso, Texas, are  learning to lead. But their teacher, Major Joseph D. Shamy, noticed something worrisome: “School in general wasn’t preparing...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 4 minutes

Congress Introduces a “Let Grow” Law!

How do you get more kids out and about on their own – and assure parents this won’t be mistaken for neglect? That’s a question Let Grow has been addressing...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

I Played Dodgeball at My Son’s School. The Way They Played Shocked Me

Forgive the clickbait title – that actually sums up what this mom saw when she played dodgeball with her son. Here is her email! Hi Lenore! How are you? I...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 5 minutes

A “Real World” Summer Camp?

Chicago mom Kristin Howard wanted middle school kids, including her own, to learn how to do things in the real world, like read maps and cook dinner, to build independence,...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 4 minutes

Red Tape and Childhood

How did we get to the point where having an old-fashioned see-saw on the playground is something almost no park district would consider? Or that students crossing the street to...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 3 minutes

WHAT I LEARNED AT THE TOY FAIR

The New York Toy Fair is a huge convention where manufacturers big and small display their toys to retailers who will hopefully buy them and sell them to the public....
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By Guest Author

Read Time: 2 minutes

​HOW TO GIVE KIDS SCREEN-FREE PLAY TIME

Nicole Cooper is a mom, a dietitian, a former police officer AND the organizer of a Let Grow Play Club at her kids’ school. Here’s what she wrote when she...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 5 minutes

Mom vs. Dad: Let Son, 6, Ride Bike Alone?

A 6-year-old rode off on his bike and stayed out for two hours, without his parents knowing where he was. That would have had me, yep, me, very worried. But...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 8 minutes

Let Grow Takes a Look at Crime Statistics

Don't let fear rule your parenting. These common sense crime statistics show the world is safer for kids than it's been in decades.
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By Guest Author

Read Time: 5 minutes

Mama Bear and the 5th Grade Bullying Incident

What do you do when you hear your kid is being bullied on the bus? Read on! Annie Mohr is one of the three parents in our “Give the Gift...
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By Let Grow

Read Time: 4 minutes

What Age Should Kids LEGALLY Be Allowed to Play Outside?

At Let Grow we say: That should be up to the parents. A few years back, after the first Reasonable Childhood Independence law passed in Utah – a great day!...
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By Guest Author

Read Time: 3 minutes

How I Learned to Stop Worrying About Future Regrets: Winter Edition

Readers: At Let Grow, we are human. Sometimes, we look at the forces arrayed against kids being kids and have to sigh. And then we get a letter like this!...
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By Lenore Skenazy

Read Time: 6 minutes

Why Letting Kids Do More Is the Ultimate Gift

Esther Wojcicki shares why trust and independence matter more than fear, mistakes, or overprotection—and how letting kids grow builds confidence and kindness.
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