Just like chickens

Brace yourselves:

This afternoon my kids were not in a class. Or inside playing games. Or upstairs reading books.
They were...

PLAYING OUTSIDE.

(gasp.)

Yup, I have free-range kids.

(Don't worry. I was there. They're only 2 1/2, for Pete's sake.)

I live in a great neighborhood. We have 15 kids under 5-years old on my street. There are 27 houses on said street and a whopping total of *29* kids on the street. (With three on the way.) On any given non-rainy day you can hear the noise of kids reverberating through the cul-de-sac. Small packs of kids thundering down the street, a bouncing basketball, loud clackety skateboards, the whirrrrr of bicycle wheels, and happy, giggly, play... It's wonderful music.

And seemingly rare in most neighborhoods these days.

I hear that most neighborhoods are in some kind of lock-down mode. Urban and suburban 'hoods. Parents are afraid of kiddos getting snatched, molested, you name it, so they the kids are under constant supervision and the parents are living in fear. (The wonderful Rosa Brooks of the LA Times writes about this here.)

They don't let their kids experience any sort of independence that might allow them to grow their self-confidence and know that they can do something, anything on their own.

They're just too scared.

Please understand that I have my moments of paranoia and fear. I would lose my mind (this is not an exaggeration) if something happened to S & J. But I am also the mom that will NEVER own a "kid leash". I'm the mom that lets her kiddos run around like banshees on rainy days at the mall - no stroller. I'm definitely the mom that lets her kids wander and explore at the local state park.

I've often joked that I needed four eyes to keep track of S & J - two eyes just isn't enough. When at all possible they head off in completely seperate directions leaving me to do a sort of child chasing triage. (Who might get into the most trouble first? GO!)

Instead of choosing fear I will choose freedom and educate by example. Be cautious but carefree. Be careful but foster independence.

And hopefully they'll choose to raise free-range kids one day.