Read this before signing your 3-year-old up for water polo! "I regret signing my kids up for so many activities when they were younger. They really didn't benefit from being rushed around." By Rachel Garlinghouse for Business Insider (reprinted at Yahoo--no paywall) www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/ar...

"The first few times Ari cut himself he was so upset that he told his mom [Dana]. But when Dana reported it to his therapist, the response was, 'So many kids are self-harming that we don’t necessarily raise it to an ‘emergency’ unless they have a plan to commit suicide.'” nypost.com/2026/04/12/o...

Their Children Were Alone Outside. So Police Visited the Family—Twice. (This was in a Kansas town of 5000!) reason.com/2026/04/08/t... via @reason #LetGrow

KIDS: PLEASE STAY HOME ON YOUR SCREENS. LOVE, CANADA'S WONDERLAND New policy no one under 16 can be there without a chaperone. (Because, of course, amusement parks are places of quiet and decorum, and not meant as, say, a park. Or an amusement.) www.ctvnews.ca/toronto/arti...

Ooh, so much oozing, rotting and grime in early NYC, where roaming pigs ate the carcasses people threw from their windows, and well water was hopping with "frogspawn and reptiles." open.substack.com/pub/thepasti...

South Carolina is #LetGrow's first "Lighthouse State," spreading our FREE independence-building materials thru its schools. Traditional "SEL" has kids breathe, meditate, self-soothe. Let Grow gets kids OUT AND ABOUT. They play, run errands, cook...THRIVE! standtogether.org/stories/educ...

High School Seniors can win $14,000 in scholarships in the @LetGrowOrg THINK FOR YOURSELF essay contest! Deadline: Ap 30. One of 4 prompts: Describe a time when you suddenly had to do or figure out something on your own. AND MORE!

A little girl's first shopping experience by herself. Impressive, of course. But also just incredibly cute! Kids can do SO MUCH! How did we forget that??? #LetGrow! @Reddit www.reddit.com/r/KidsAreFin...

A Chicago mom started a "REAL WORLD" summer camp: Kids go to grocery, laundry, even a cemetery. And they find their way via public transit. THE KIDS LOVE IT! The parents are GRATEFUL! The growth is REAL! letgrow.org/real-world-s...

EXTREMELY DEEP PIECE by @SamBMD abt how "Leave!" is the most popular relationship advice on @reddit. And surging! This shows "a culture in which the presence of any friction...has become grounds for exit. We have quietly rebranded avoidance as wisdom." bit.ly/40V1MaM

Calling all US play researchers & practitioners! Deadline to submit your abstract for Int'l Play Assoc conference -- #IPA2026 -- in New Zealand -- is coming soon! MARCH 1! Share your work on the global stage! Submit here: www.ipachristchurch2026.com/call-for-abs... #ChildDevelopment #Play

Where can you get reasoned, kind, real-world responses to a question like this: "At what age do you suggest 1. Cross the street alone, and 2. Go around the block alone?" At @LetGrowOrg's Raising Independent Kids FB group! www.facebook.com/groups/75993...

This mom made it happen! Started with 6 kids now has 43: HOW TO GIVE KIDS SCREEN-FREE PLAY TIME: letgrow.org/screen-free-...

I can’t believe I said this to a room full of Germans, while also fulfilling one of my life bucket list goals. Beyond Hierarchy: How Play Can Heal The Division Between Us TEDx Talk: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Abnz... #tedx #tedxkarlsruhe #play #healing #hierarchy

INDIANA -- WOO HOO! Indiana's legislature just passed the Reasonable Childhood Independence law UNANIMOUSLY! Heading to @GovBraun's desk now! Kudos to sponsors @JakeTeshka & @wilburn4IN! (And @LetGrowOrg!) Happy Hoosier Kids!

A little piece on the history of pancakes (by me! In the @WSJ, no less!): wsj.com/opinion/free...

Mom hears her 5th grader is being bullied on the bus--wants to jump in. "No," he says. "I've got this." How'd he get so confident? When she (anxiously) started letting him ride his bike around, he MADE FRIENDS. Kids need INDEPENDENCE. @LetGrowOrg letgrow.org/mama-bear-an...

From "Stand by Me" to "Stand by Mom" My piece on the classic film in today's Wall Street Journal: "After grabbing sleeping bags and canteens, they’re off, not a healthful snack in sight. No sunscreen, no adults, and no way to reach mom to say, 'I forgot my retainer.'” www.wsj.com/opinion/free...

"When adults intervene unnecessarily in children’s lives—supervising their play, mediating their disputes—they effectively call the rehearsal off, increasing the odds that things will go poorly later on." By @SimonLewsen @TheWalrus thewalrus.ca/is-it-danger... #LetGrowOrg

Georgia mom lets son, 6, scooter to park. Lady stops him: How old is he? Where are his parents? Kid gets scared--scooters home to get away. Lady follows him home, notes address. Child protective services arrives 3 days later. Cites mom for neglect. reason.com/2026/01/16/s... #LetGrowOrg

GREAT piece by Casey A Smith on Reasonable Childhood bill hearing in Indiana yesterday! When it comes to investigating parents who let their kids do things unsupervised, said Rep. @JakeTeshka: “The standard should be danger, not disapproval.” indianacapitalchronicle.com/2026/01/12/l... #LetGrowOrg

The partying in the high school bathrooms got so bad (one had a BUBBLE MACHINE) that a kid wrote about it for the school paper. When it got edited to nothing, he posted it online. THEN -- (This won @LetGrowOrg's Think For Yourself essay contest): www.nydailynews.com/2026/01/01/b...

Great piece by @jamesbmeigs on the OBVIOUS, OVERLOOKED alternative to phones: Give kids back REAL LIFE. Let them bike, shop, cook, wander...w/out US! All the things we curtailed, when trying to keep them "safe" from almost everything (except screens): www.wsj.com/opinion/free...

Guy goes to Walmart looking for Tylenol. Asks a mom. Her kid looks like he's about to fall off cart. Places kid back on cart. SENT TO JAIL! 2 MOS! Mom accused him of trying to STEAL kid. Only camera footage saved him. QUIT ASSUMING KIDNAPPING IS COMMON! ca.news.yahoo.com/reached-grab...

SUPER @Edutopia 2-min video on the SCIENTIFIC PROOF that kids need MORE recess--preferably unstructured and outdoors: edutopia.org/video/a-simp... (At LetGrow.Org we also recommend keeping schoolyards open for free play before and after school.)

Giving kids some trust/independence is the ultimate gift. Here's how @EstherWojcicki did that, raising 3 super-successful girls. (Look up the CEOs of @YouTube and @23andMe, for instance.) Bonus: I asked her about the fact she got her kids pet rats. letgrow.org/why-letting-...

A short, happy message about crime! www.freerangekids.com?p=31823&prev...

PERCEPTION: "I CAN'T LET MY KIDS PLAY OUTSIDE -- CRIME IS SOARING!" REALITY: 2025 had "THE LARGEST ONE-YEAR DROP IN MURDER EVER RECORDED." jasher.substack.com/p/2025-year-...

Impossible to resist @DavidEpstein's top 2025 life hacks, color of the year, and favorite appendix. Yep. And don't forget his biggest point, especially for KIDS: Do a LOT of different things & you gain the superpower of analogy (& discover yr passion). open.substack.com/pub/davideps...

Gobsmacked and thrilled: "10 Essential TED Talks of 2025" My "Spend Less Time with Your Kids" is there! www.ted.com/playlists/89... (At Let Grow, we have ways of helping parents step back and be amazed by their kids. And all our materials are FREE!) @TEDTalks

On yesterday's webinar, "Give the Gift of Independence," attendees came from Australia, Mexico, Canada, Kenya, Costa Rica, Holland, Brazil & Venezuela. PARENTS AROUND THE WORLD want to let their kids start doing more on their own! Here's our free guide: letgrow.org/four-weeks-g...

.@JonHaidt & @Catherine_Price on @MorningJoe talking about their new book, The Amazing Generation. SO GOOD! Goal is not DEPRIVING kids of phones. It's about OPENING THE DOOR and LETTING THEM HAVE FUN & MEANING IN REAL LIFE. (@LetGrowOrg's goal, too!) www.ms.now/morning-joe/...

"My 8-y.o. has been experimenting w/ tiny moments of independence. The look on his face says it all. I realized that independence is an important thing to teach my children." - @BusinessInsider For help letting go, visit LetGrow.Org! bit.ly/3MzatDJ

Bill Maher is singing the Free-Range Kids / Let Grow tune! Give kids back more independence, free play -- And acorns! lnkd.in/eqqUU7wk

New legal troubles for dad convicted of a FELONY for letting his sons, 7 & 10, walk home from the store. Younger one ran into street, died. There but for the grace of God go any of us who have ever let our kids walk home. Now dad faces new hearing: reason.com/2025/12/04/n...

How to Raise Confident Kids in an Age of Anxiety My chat with @TEDTalks' Whitney Pennington Rogers. I know that lots of parents feel HAPPIER after hearing how we have been almost BRAINWASHED into excessive fear for our kids by a culture of catastrophizing: www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXBj...

Teach your kids to TALK TO STRANGERS! It'll make them SAFER, writes Kaili Colford in @TodaysParent: www.todaysparent.com/family/i-let... @LetGrowOrg

Fun listening! Me & Rusty Keeler @EarthPlay discuss: "From bus stop debates to AirTag sneakers, the cultural shift from trust to tracking, and how we can turn it around. You’ll hear why every child deserves the chance to say, 'I did it myself!'” rustykeeler.com/podcast/ep-2...

BRILLIANT ARTICLE on what KIDS lose out on when we TRACK THEM: "Is it really about their safety — or is it about protecting our own peace of mind at their expense?" by Kathryn Jezer-Morton thecut.com/article/kids... @TheCUT #LetGrowOrg

Why was ONLINE SPORTS GAMBLING legalized?! “Gambling today isn’t the occasional casino trip; it’s a high-speed, high-dopamine system on your phone. We’re seeing more people slip into addiction...because the platforms remove natural stopping points." addictionresource.net/blog/common-...

Brilliant Dr. Samantha Boardman on "HOLIDAY STRESS" "By constantly discussing & preparing for holiday stress, we’re TRAINING OURSELVES TO EXPERIENCE IT. We’ve created a script that tells us the holidays should be overwhelming, & then we dutifully perform our part." bit.ly/3Kcy0cD

. @JonHaidt and @BariWeiss discuss why kids don't need phones...but DO need independence! www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-LY... @LetGrowOrg

A 19 yo Reflects on How Her Let Grow/ Free-Range Childhood Made her Strong: "Now, as someone on the cusp of being an adult, I do not doubt my abilities to travel freely as a young woman..." letgrow.org/let-grow-suc... #Occidental @LetGrowOrg

SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCHERS! @JonHaidt and Yejin Park Roberts are hoping for more studies of the mental health impact of FREE PLAY! www.afterbabel.com/p/free-play-...

You will love this! "I was so bored, I started a Play Club." 12 yo gets his friends together -- parents inside, kids outside -- and life gets BETTER! letgrow.org/i-was-so-bor... Tnx to @LetGrowOrg

NYC! Great event Nov 20: A party / comedy / music night to benefit the Sprout Society. Their mission? "To end loneliness so no one has to go through life’s hardest moments & mental health challenges alone." Tkts $50: bit.ly/3JFud7i

Honored to be the first "re-broadcast" ever, on pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman's "Your Child is Normal" podcast! "Why Giving Kids More Freedom Makes Them Stronger" podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... Attn @LetGrowOrg

Honored to be the first "re-broadcast" ever, on pediatrician Dr. Jessica Hochman's "Your Child is Normal" podcast! "Why Giving Kids More Freedom Makes Them Stronger" podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/e... Attn @LetGrowOrg

GREAT, hope-giving, mind-opening piece by @DrCamiloOrtiz & Julia Martin Burch: A primer on how independence can inoculate kids against anxiety! AND it makes life easier for PARENTS, too! You can start doing it today! open.substack.com/pub/bariweis... Inspired by @LetGrowOrg!

Ask any 3rd grade teacher & they'll tell you "up to 1/4 of their kids can’t read at grade-level or share markers w/out a meltdown. Half [can be] flagged for behavior/reading/ADHD issues, maybe thanks to eliminating movement & play in favor of academics." bit.ly/4hMiNvd