Table of Contents

Foreword xi

Introduction to the Introduction xv

The Actual Introduction Already xvii

1 Know When to Worry 1

Play Dates and Axe Murderers: How to Tell The Difference

2 Turn off the News 11

Go Easy On The Law and Order, Too

3 Avoid Experts 23

Who Knew You Were Doing Everything Wrong? Them!

4 Boycott Baby Knee Pads 35

And the Rest of the Kiddie Safety-Industrial Complex

5 Don’t Think Like a Lawyer 47

Some Risks Are Worth It

6 Ignore the Blamers 57

They Don’t Know Your Kid Like You Do

7 Eat Chocolate 69

Give Halloween Back to the Trick-or-Treaters

8 Study History 81

Your Ten-Year-Old Would Have Been Forging Horseshoes (or at Least Delivering Papers)

9 Be Worldly 95

Why Other Countries Are Laughing at Zee Scaredy-Cat Americans

10 Get Braver 107

Quit Trying to Control Everything. It Doesn’t Work Anyway.

11 Relax 121

Not Every Little Thing You Do Has That Much Impact On Your Child’s Development

12 Fail! 133

Easy! Educational! Fun!

13 Lock Them Out 145

Make Them Play—Or Else!

14 Listen to Your Kids 157

They Don’t Want to Be Treated Like Babies (Unless They Are Still Crawling, Etc.)

15 Take the Long View 167

Wasting Time Is Not a Waste Of Time

16 Trust Strangers 179

Even the Folks Who Put the Faces on the Milk Cartons Aren’t Too Worried

17 De-Fang Anxiety 191

Independence Is the New Prozac

18 Embrace (Some) Tech 207

We All Scream for iScreens Calling All Educators 223

Conclusion 243

Acknowledgments 249

Sources 251

About the Author 263

Resources and Connecting 265

The Free-Range Kids Card 267

Index 269

About the Author

LENORE SKENAZY: After her column "Why I Let My 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone" created a media firestorm, Lenore got labeled "America's Worst Mom." Nice. She turned around and started the Free-Range Kids movement, lecturing around the world and hosting the reality show, World's Worst Mom. Now she's President of Let Grow, the nonprofit promoting childhood independence.