Free-Range Kids : Giving Our Children the Freedom We Had Without Going Nuts with Worry

by Lenore Skenazy

• ISBN13: 9780470471944
• ISBN10: 0470471948
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-01
• Publisher: Jossey-Bass

Summary

Praise for Free-Range Kids"Lenore Skenazy is a national hero." -Mary Roach, author, Bonk and Stiff "This book is a bubbly but potent corrective for the irrational fears that drive so many parents crazy. Skenazy is witty, perceptive, persuasive, and above all, sensible." -Robert Needlman, M.D., coauthor, Dr. Spock's Baby and Child Care, 8th Edition"Free-Range Kids is the best kind of manifesto: smart, funny, rigorous, sane, impassioned, and bristling with common sense. If you're a parent, or planning to become one, read this book. You have nothing to lose-apart from your anxiety."-Carl Honor_, author, In Praise of Slowness and Under Pressure "Even scaredy-cat parents like myself now have a how-to manual on overcomingirrational suspicions and, finally, differentiating between an axe murderer anda play date!" -David Harsanyi, syndicated columnist and author, Nanny State"Free-Range Kids makes the perfect baby shower gift." -Nancy McDermott, parenting blogger, Spiked Online"Moral insight without moralizing-how rare is that?" -Amity Shlaes, author, The Forgotten Man"Keep Free-Range Kids on your bedstand next to your Bible and the TV remote, and refer to as needed during the 11 o'clock news." -Jordan Lite, news reporter, Scientific American Online"Read this book-Mommy said you could." -Penn Jillette, Penn & Teller

Author Biography

LENORE SKENAZY is a syndicated columnist, humorist, and founder of Free-Range Kids. She has written for periodicals from Reader's Digest to The Times (of London) to Mad magazine, and been a commentator on CNBC, the Food Network, and NPR. Her books include The Dysfunctional Family Christmas Songbook and Who's the Blonde That Married What's-His-Name? She lives with her husband and two sons in New York City.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction: Welcome to-Yikes!	p. xi
The Fourteen Free-Range Commandments	p. 1
Know When to Worry: Play Dates and Axe Murderers: How to Tell the Difference	p. 3
Turn Off the News: Go Easy on the "Law and Order," Too	p. 12
Avoid Experts: Who Knew You Were Doing Everything Wrong?. . .Them!	p. 21
Boycott Baby Knee Pads: And the Rest of the Kiddis Safety-Industrial Complex	p. 31
Don't Think Like a Lawyer: Some Risks Are Worth It	p. 41
Ignore the Blamers: They Don't Know Your Kid Like You Do	p. 50
Eat Chocolate: Give Halloween Back to the Trick-or-Treaters	p. 59
Study History: Your Ten-Year-Old Would Have Been Forging Horseshoes (or at Least Deliverting Papers)	p. 68
Be Worldly: Why Other Countries Are Laughing at zee Scaredy-Cat Americans	p. 80
Get Braver: Quit Trying to Control Everything. It Doesn't Work Anyway	p. 91
Relax: Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact on Your Child's Development	p. 103
Fail! Is's the New Succeed	p. 114
Lock Them Out: Make Them Play-or Else!	p. 125
Listen to Your Kids: They Don't Want to Be Treated Like Babies (Except the Actual Babies, of Course)	p. 135
The Free-Range Guide to Life	p. 145
Safe or Not? The A-to-Z Review of Everything You Might Be Worried About	p. 147
Animals, Being Eaten By
Bats (Metal)
Bats (Vampire)
Bottle Feeding: Formula for Disaster?
BPA Poisoning in Baby Bottles, Sippy Cups. . .and Everything Else
Cell Phones and Brain Cancer (but Not, Alas, "Cell Phones and How Come Your Kids Never Answer When You Need Them To")
Choking on Food and All the Other Little Things Around the House
Cough and Cold Medicinitis
Death by Stroller
Eating Snow
Germs, Antigerms, and Shopping Cart Liners
Halloween Candy: Hershey's Kiss of Death?
Internet Predators and Other Skeeves Online
Lead Paint, Lead Toys, and Lead Everything from China
Licking the Batter off Beaters While They Are Still Plugged In
Plastic Bags and Why There Are Warnings All over Them
Playground Perils
Pools and Water and Kids and Toilets (Not the Fun Part)
Raw Dough's Raw Deal
School Shootings
Spoilage (of Children)
Spoilage (of Lunch)
Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS)
Sunscreen, Vitamin D, Skin Cancer, You Name It
Teen Sex (Yes, Kids, We Know You're Reading This. Now Come and Ask Us All About Contraception)
The Woods, Playing In
Walking to School (or at Least the Bus Stop)
Zoo Animals (in Cracker Form and Otherwise)
Strangers with Candy
Even the Folks Who Put the Faces on Milk Cartons Aren't Too Worried	p. 180
Conclusion
The Other Problem That Has No Name-and Its Solution	p. 191
Sources	p. 197
Helpful Books, Blogs, Web Sites, and Some Inspiring Family Movies	p. 211
About the Author	p. 215
Index	p. 217
Free-Range Membership Cards	p. 227
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