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
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.
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