Tag Archives: free range kids

Moving on from the zero risk childhood

Posted on January 11, 2012 | 13 comments

Girl climbing a treeThe ‘cotton wool kid’ – cosseted, watched over, insulated from all possible harm – has become a potent symbol of our fear-filled, risk-averse times. Across the rich nations, children are statistically safer today than at any time in history [pdf link]. But the insidious question ‘what if…?’ crowds out common sense, and clouds our good judgement. Continue reading →

13 Comments

Posted in Education, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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A brief history of the popsicle test

Posted on December 13, 2011 | 11 comments

Children and adults in a popsicle storeHow do you measure the child-friendliness of a neighbourhood? Here’s one test. Would you, as a parent of an 8-year-old child living in that neighbourhood, let your child make their own way to a shop and buy a popsicle (or any variety of ice-cream) – and could your child get the frozen treat back home before it melted?

Continue reading →

11 Comments

Posted in Mobility, Outdoor play, Public policy, Risk, Urbanism

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Everyday childhood freedoms? Parents, not experts, have to decide

Posted on July 29, 2011 | 18 comments

1st day at school (parents went too)

Some time ago a father emailed me asking for advice about the freedoms he should grant to his son. I don’t know him, or his son, and don’t know anything about where he lives. Which, by the way, is Melbourne, Australia. Why he might think I would be better placed than him to decide, I have absolutely no idea – and my reply said as much. Continue reading →

18 Comments

Posted in Child development, Learning, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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