Author & Free-Range Kids Founder Lenore Skenazy Speaks to DFW-Area Parents

10/28/2014

Lenore Skenazy, journalist, author, and Free-Range Kids Founder, often laughs at her other media-born moniker, “America’s Worst Mom.” She is most prominently recognized as the mother who let her 9-year-old son navigate the NYC subway system to get home by himself.

From the press and backlash that ensued after that incident in April 2008, she has identified an issue in our society that is most clearly labeled as fear in raising our kids. She has taken that backlash, and started a movement instead.

On Tuesday, October 28, Ms. Skenazy visited Dallas for a morning and evening talk at Greenhill School called “How did we get so afraid for our kids.” In a hilarious, informative, and mind-opening talk, she cited many examples of how our society has conditioned us to live in fear, especially in parenting. From baby toys that encourage over-protection from normal life, to an imagined sense of child predators on every street corner, Lenore gave many examples of how parenting is dominated by fear.

Ironically, the crime rate today is as low as it was in 1963. Our streets have never been safer, yet Ms. Skenazy cites several factors in our society that have driven this sense of fear, ranging from the media, only reporting the most outlying and violent stories, to our litigious society, always looking at everything through a lens of danger.

In closing, Ms. Skenazy challenged parents and teachers alike to embark on the Free-Range Kids project, where a student thinks of something they would like to try outside their comfort zone, does it with permission, and then writes about it. It is Lenore’s hope that the pride and joy that the child feels in their newfound independence will start to ease the fear in their parents’ hearts.

Thank you Lenore Skenazy for visiting Greenhill and spreading this important message!

For more info on Lenore Skenazy, visit www.freerangekids.com.

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