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Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) [Paperback]

Lenore Skenazy
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)

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Book Description

April 19, 2010
FREE RANGE KIDS has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazy?s piece about allowing her 9-year-old ride the subway alone in NYC. Parent groups argued about it, bloggers, blogged, spouses became uncivil with each other, and the media jumped all over it. A lot of parents today, Skenazy says, see no difference between letting their kids walk to school and letting them walk through a firing range. Any risk is seen as too much risk. But if you try to prevent every possible danger or difficult in your child?s everyday life, that child never gets a chance to grow up. We parents have to realize that the greatest risk of all just might be trying to raise a child who never encounters choice or independence.

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Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) + The Idle Parent: Why Laid-Back Parents Raise Happier and Healthier Kids
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Editorial Reviews

Review

Library Journal Starred Review - Skenazy flies the black flag of America’s Worst Mom, a title this syndicated columnist and NPR commentator earned by allowing her nine-year-old son to ride the New York City public transit alone in 2008. Here, she puts parents? fears to bed by examining the statistical likelihood of the dangers we most fear (murder, baby-snatching, etc.). Drawing on facts, statistics, and humor, she convincingly argues that this is one of the safest periods for children in the history of the world, reiterating that mostly, the world is safe and mostly, people are good. Even the lowest-flying helicopter parents would have trouble disagreeing that we have entered an era that says you cannot trust yourself. Trust a product instead. Skenazy argues that it’s time to retire the national pastime of worrying and that childhood is supposed to be about discovering the world, not being held captive. The obvious has never been so hilarious.

"Skenazy will find plenty of supporters for her contention that, in a world where the rights of chickens to roam freely are championed, it's time to liberate the kids." (The Wall Street Journal, April 24, 2009)

"Skenazy advocates for a child's right to separate gradually from a parent's assistance and to learn the joy and self-confidence that comes from trying out independence."
—Christian Century (November 2009)

"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 Honoré, author, In Praise of Slowness and Under Pressure

"Even scaredy-cat parents like myself now have a how-to manual on overcoming irrational suspicions and, finally, differentiating between an axe murderer and a 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

Review

"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 Honoré, author, In Praise of Slowness and Under Pressure

"Lenore Skenazy is a national hero."
—Mary Roach, author, Bonk and Stiff

"Even scaredy-cat parents like myself now have a how-to manual on overcoming irrational suspicions and, finally, differentiating between an axe murderer and a 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


Product Details

  • Paperback: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Jossey-Bass; 1 edition (April 19, 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0470574755
  • ISBN-13: 978-0470574751
  • Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.7 x 9 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (132 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,615 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lenore Skenazy writes a bright, unpredictable op-ed column that appears in more than 100 papers. Her often cheery, sometimes chiding pieces look at everything from politics to family life to the strange times we live in - times that have brought us bottled water for dogs, pole dancing for grannies and the vocabulary-covered "S.A.T. Shower Curtain" for kids.

Her observations can be heard on NPR and read in Reader's Digest. She has also written for Mad Magazine and co-authored "The Dysfunctional Family Christmas Songbook." Her quiz/joke book, "Who's The Blonde That Married What's-His-Name?" is due out in June and her topical humor contest, "What Next?" runs in The Week. She also spent several years as an on-air (younger, cuter) Andy Rooney, first at CNBC and then at the Food Network.

After she let her 9-year-old take the subway by himself and wrote about it in April of '08, she found herself on "The Today Show," "Dr. Phil," and even the BBC, defending herself against charges she was "America's Worst Mom." (Go ahead - Google it.) She launched the blog, "Free Range Kids" to explain her parenting philosophy and this proved so popular, she went on to write the book, "Free Range Kids."

Skenazy lives in Manhattan with her husband and two sons.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
76 of 83 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Agree With the Sentiment, Not a Huge Fan of the Style September 3, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)
Personally, I thought the author was cool when she let her kid ride the subway alone. It's hard for parents to let go, but we have to or we'll stunt our kids. I was a crime reporter for many years. I covered Polly Klaas -- I know first-hand out unsafe the world can be. So lock your doors, put your kids in car seats, be sensible and then move on. To try to control every aspect of your kids' world probably does steal a little of their childhood away from them.

But blogs turned into books often annoy me, because that witty-breezy-edgy voice begins to grate.

I think this is an OK book, probably one that a lot of parents need to read or will want to read. But for me, once the point was made, it was made. I'd have been happy reading this in a magazine article without dragging it out. It felt like a make-a-buck effort more than a necessary parenting tool.
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54 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Finally a parenting book I can relate to! April 5, 2009
By Semele
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I've been reading Lenore's blog for a few months now, and I enjoy it, so I mean it as a compliment when I say that her book is WAY better than her blog.

I really enjoyed the combination of light-hearted quips and anecdotes together with serious, thought-provoking information and opinions. Opinions that are backed up by real data, not the urban legends everyone likes to cite. Did you know that there are no documented cases of kids being given poisoned candy by a stranger on Halloween? I didn't. Lenore debunks lots of "known dangers," and she does it in a readable, entertaining fashion.

This is a parenting book I'm going to recommend to my friends, and one of the very few that I won't be selling to the used book store. This one will be proudly displayed on my bookshelf to be loaned out to people who need it, and re-read by me when I need a reminder not to be sucked in by the paranoid parenting that's taken over our society. Thanks, Lenore!
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35 of 37 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A great read for parents April 9, 2009
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is seriously one of the best parenting books I have read. Not only do I love Lenore Skenazy's writing style - so very down to earth - her advice is right on the mark. She doesn't dictate what you have to do, but offers some very practical wisdom on what dangers are real and which are overblown.

Her ideas are well-researched (documentation in the back of the book), her examples are on-the-mark - sometimes sad and many times hilarious, and she demonstrates a real empathy for parents. We can all get overwhelmed by the abundance of advice for parents. Lenore urges us to take a step back, use our common sense, and do what's best for our own children.
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30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Go outside and play- really! April 6, 2009
Format:Hardcover
Before you install a Lo Jack system in your child's backpack- read this book! The world is not the scary place that the evening news would like us to believe. This book will debunk the myths that have been widely accepted as truths. For example, strangers passing out poisoned Halloween candy- how many documented cases have there been? zero. Check it out on snopes.

Do you wish your kids could play capture the flag on summer nights with the neighborhood kids like we did? They can! Trust your instincts. You know your children better than anyone. They don't need 24/7 supervision. They need you to teach them how to be safe and then trust them to do it.

Lenore Skenazy should be hailed as the liberator of children from the oppression of paranoia.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A fun and reassuring read July 1, 2010
Format:Paperback
From the beginning, I was sucked in by her light, funny writing style. She uses a lot of sarcasm, which is always fun for me. The book came about because she wrote a column about letting her 9 year old ride the subway in New York City home by himself. She was contacted by various news shows to come on television and share her story, where she was usually made to look negligent by various parenting "experts." From there, a whole parenting movement took off, which she dubbed the Free Range movement. The premise is that kids have common sense, and that the world is safe and they should be allowed to explore it.

She uses statistics to back up her reasoning, some of which are surprising and reassuring. For instance, the likelihood of your child being abducted by a stranger are 1 in 1,500,000. That amounts to 0.000067%. She states that violent crime rates peaked in the early '90s, have been on a steady decline since, and are now at the same levels as they were in the early '60s. There are hypotheses about why this may be. Perhaps it's better prosecution of sex offenders, a greater police presence, better psychiatric treatments available, something else, or all of the above. She discusses Halloween as well. One expert found that there has never been a single case of a child dying from Halloween candy poisoned by a stranger. Not one single case.

This book takes you through 14 "commandments" for free range parents, and information about why you'd want to live this way. At the end of each chapter, she gives you ideas for how you can work toward allowing your kids more freedom. She does a great deal to try to soothe our natural parenting worries, which often are fueled by things like the evening news and Law & Order.
... Read more ›
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Every Parent Needs To Read This Book! April 27, 2009
Format:Hardcover
In this day and age of hyper scheduled, over stressed kids, this book offers the recipe for raising happy and productive kids!

Chock full of advice and stories of kids who made their parents crazy and ended up successful adults, you'll find reassurance on every page.

This couldn't have come at a better time. I have a (nearly) 6 year old and it makes me remember that even though times have changed, I can still give him the freedom to be a happy, healthy, creative and crazy/wonderful kid!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars an entertaining and enlightening read
A common sense approach to parenting that is also fun to read. I hope more parents read and take its advice to heart. Read more
Published 13 hours ago by Katie L Henriksen
5.0 out of 5 stars I am a free-range mom and didn't know it!!!!
When my daughter was 7 I let her ride around the block on her bike, everyone I told were shocked. I have three kids ages 7,9,11, I let them walk to the playground across the... Read more
Published 17 days ago by Christina Pennington
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful
Lenore is a rare voice of reason in the world of parenting advice. Let us return to common sense when it comes to child raising, before we raise generations of incompetent idiots... Read more
Published 18 days ago by Derek Goodyear
5.0 out of 5 stars My God-Some Common Sense At Last...
Just an affirmation that this book is both very funny at times and filled with wisdom about child-rearing-as they said in the old Milwaukee beer ads: "It don't get no better'n... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Il Padrone
4.0 out of 5 stars The reality that is missed in a world of myths, sensasitionalism and...
Some might find the book very simplistic but, isn't life supposed to be that way. There is no better judge of a child's ability than that of their Parent and themselves and it is... Read more
Published 2 months ago by james
4.0 out of 5 stars Every parent should take tips from this book!!!
I read this whole book this morning (well, I skipped around a bit but got the main points). I have always been a fairly relaxed parent but in the last couple of years, I notice how... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Margaret Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars Eye opener
As a parent I want my kids to have a good childhood, while preparing them for the future. This book confirmed the way I want my kids to grow up. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Joseph Myers
5.0 out of 5 stars Parenting Without the Worry
I've never read Lenore's blog and only remember hearing a little about the subway incident, so I wasn't too sure what to expect with this book. Read more
Published 4 months ago by J. Miller
5.0 out of 5 stars AMAZING
I absolutely love this book! It is a page turner! Very well written, keeps me reading! It's amazing the things that the media can influence.
Published 4 months ago by MO
5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for parents that want to raise normal, well rounded...
We are living in an era where parental peer pressure is rationalizing insane practices. This book provides great perspective, backed up by STATISTICAL FACTS that will help you... Read more
Published 4 months ago by b
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