Comments on: Why I Adore Lenore

By: BILL CRABB

BILL CRABB — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 20:24:18 +0000

Amen!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 17:55:59 +0000

Great line, Nikke, “You cannot keep your children from experiencing the world.” You are so right, kids really can’t walk next to 309 commuters – I hate driving on that road, personally. Our town has very few sidewalks. There was a campaign recently called Walkable Wallingford involving surveys, maps, plans, and hopes – but in the end, sll the dreams were dashed. Nothing happened. And everyone still drives way too much.

By: Nikki Benner

Nikki Benner — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 15:51:08 +0000

I loved walking to school as a kid. I didn’t walk alone, but rather with a group of other neighborhood kids. One day, a person did expose himself to us on our walk, but we knew what to do – at the next person’s house we went inside and called the police to report the incident. You cannot keep your children from experiencing the world, and you cannot believe how empowering it is to know you can get where you need to go on your own (and handle any challenges along the way). My only regret about the wonderful neighborhood I live in is that, despite our one-mile distance from the local middle and high school, there are no safe and contiguous sidewalks from my home to the schools, and part of the walk would take my son up Paper Mill Road alongside Rte 309 commuters, making the walk dangerous for practical and not imaginary reasons. Neighborhoods should be designed for walkability.

By: Patti

Patti — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:26:14 +0000

I loved this piece! Any fans of Penn & Teller’s Bullsh*t on Showtime may remember seeing Lenore’s son, Izzy take the subway in NYC to school. The episode was titled “Stranger Danger” and they seem to feel the same way a lot of us do.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 01:48:34 +0000

So glad to hear from you like-minded readers! I am saddened every time I see a fearful little kid who is terrified to look up and say hello to a neighbor. What kind of world are these paranoid parents creating?

By: Liz

Liz — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 00:19:38 +0000

This has been a subject I have been railing about for years!!! I read the book by the subway mom, and I am constantly preaching to everyone I can. Most think I am naive (the kinder ones) or reckless (the less kind), but I keep trying to convince people to teach independence and learn some probability (it helps that I am a math teacher).

By: jeanne

jeanne — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 19:48:20 +0000

Lenore is great and her blog, Free Range Kids is, too. It boggles my mind that parents think nothing of driving kids all over creation when being in a car, not encountering a predator, is the most dangerous thing for a kid. The sad thing about your story is that the construction workers on Pool lane were far more likely to come running if Ian needed help than they were to cause him any harm, but parents don’t believe that.

By: MelanieO

MelanieO — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 14:53:55 +0000

Great piece. Both by necessity and nature, I am not a helicopter mom. We recently moved to a new town where seemingly everyone drives, while my kids ride the bus. I get emails every morning from well-intentioned drop-off moms letting me know that my kids made it safely from the bus into the building. I can only imagine the tizzies that would ensue if they discovered that I let my kids make the five-minute walk from the bus stop to home ALONE!

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:59:22 +0000

Good for Chase and you!! Those lucky walk-home kids get to stop and buy candy or milkshakes too – or in your husband’s case, coffee.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 12:51:24 +0000

She is my hero too! I recently read an article about her and her decision to let her kid ride the subway alone. People called her the worst mom in the world. I admired her. I want to give my kids more freedom than my heart lets me. Chase was assigned a bus stop but we walk to school — and he comes home by himself. The first day it terrified me — now its the best thing ever. I do (admittedly) pick him up if its raining.