Free Range Kids

In her promotion tour for her new book, pictured above, Lenore Skenazy is cute, witty, charming and ironic. She says stuff like this:

If you don't want to have your child in any kind of danger, you really can't do anything. You certainly couldn't drive them in a car, because that's the No. 1 way kids die, as passengers in car accidents.

That's from her interview with Salon. She's also recently had an online discussion with WaPo, and she has a cute video on Amazon. And, of course, she has a blog, called Free Range Kids.

I haven't read her book, but I certainly understand where she's coming from. Her ideas have been well fleshed out in her media blitz. More from her Salon interview:

Salon: Rationally, why aren't cars the bogeyman instead of stranger abduction?

Skenazy: It would change our entire lifestyle if we couldn't drive our kids in a car, and it's a danger that we just willingly accept without examining it too much, because we know that the chances are very slim that we're going to have a fatal car accident. But the chances are 40 times slimmer that your kid walking to school, whether or not she's they only one, is going to be hurt by a stranger.

Salon: Isn't it ironic that parents are driving around their kids to protect them, but riding in a car is the greater danger?

Skenazy: Oh, it's all ironic!

I love it. And I hope people listen to Skenazy. As I've discovered, even if you allow your kids the freedom to explore "free range," they won't enjoy it much if all their friends remain inside their protective pods.