FREE RANGE KIDShas 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. This book debunks dangerous myths and advocates rational care with Free Range Parenting Commandments, including:

KNOW WHEN TO WORRY (AND NOT) — Playdates and Axe Murders: How to Tell the Difference

NEVER LISTEN TO EXPERTS — Who Knew You Were Doing Everything Wrong — Them

EAT CHOCOLATE — Give Halloween Back to the Trick or Treaters

TURN OFF THE 24 HOUR NEWS — Go Easy on "Law & Order" too 

STOP THINKING LIKE A LAWYER — Some Risks are Strength Builders

STUDY HISTORY — Your 10-year-old Would Have Been Forging Horse Shoes (or at least delivering papers)

FAIL — It's the New Succeed

LISTEN TO YOUR KIDS — They're sick of Being Babied (except the actual babies, of course)

LISTEN TO YOUR PARENTS — They raised you, right? And you're still alive.

RELAX — Not every little thing you do impacts your child's development, unless you smother or inspire rebellion

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.

Skenazy has drawn from her column for the New York Sun to offer advice to parents like her. Well, not like her, but who think they might want to be, at least in some ways. She begins with the 14 free-range commandments, which include avoid experts, eat chocolate, be worldly, get braver, and listen to the kids. Then she provides an alphabetical review of every possible danger to children that she has heard of at least twice (once if it is really funny). Among them are death by stroller, Internet predators and other skeeves online, toilets, school shootings, lunch spoilage, teen sex, playing in the woods, and walking to school or the bus stop. Strangers with candy get a section all to themselves. Jossey-Bass in an imprint of Wiley. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

FREE RANGE KIDS has become a national movement, sparked by the incredible response to Lenore Skenazys 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 childs 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.

Praise for Free-Range Kids

Lenore Skenazy is a national hero.

--Mary Roach, author, Bonk and StiffThis 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 EditionFree-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 Honore, 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 ManKeep 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