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Category Archives: and my super opinion
Keep Idaho kids free
A “Free-Range Kids” bill is up for debate in the Idaho legislature that will help ensure that kids can walk to school by themselves, ride their bikes and meet friends at the park without their parents getting investigated for neglect. Continue reading
Outdoor preschools catch on in U.S.
Some good news in American education! Washington recently became the first state to license outdoor preschools. These are preschools where kids play and learn in nature all day. The very fact that kids aren’t sitting a tables being drilled on reading … Continue reading
Posted in and my super opinion, education, parenting, science
Tagged children, education, forest, kindergarten, nature, outdoors, play, preschool
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Online preschool: another bad education idea that is so American
We want our kids to be competitive in America, and to do that we keep turning to technology. It was one of the biggest differences I noticed between American and German education systems. Despite persistent budget problems and the constant … Continue reading
Posted in Achtung Baby, and my super opinion, parenting
Tagged education, online preschool, play
2 Comments
THE WAVE: recommended reading for raising free kids
Nearly all German teenagers read this book about how easy authoritarianism can take hold. Americans might want to read it too — because it happened here. The book is based on an experiment at a high school in Palo Alto, … Continue reading
Posted in Achtung Baby, and my super opinion, Book Review, Germany
Tagged authoritarian, die welle, holocaust, neveragain, the wave
4 Comments
Children’s right to be with their parents
I write a lot about children’s rights. My book, Achtung Baby, is an attempt to convince American parents that kids have a right to play, to walk places on their own and to follow their own interests. Children’s right to … Continue reading
Posted in Achtung Baby, and my super opinion, Germany
Tagged asylum, children's rights, family separation, immigration, parents
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Helicopter parents, race, and class: why the cops were called on two Native American teens on a college tour
Recently, a mother on a campus tour of Colorado State University called the police on two Native American teens because she found their behavior “odd” and their clothing disturbing. They were wearing heavy metal band t-shirts and didn’t answer her … Continue reading
Posted in and my super opinion, parenting
Tagged college, free kids, helicopter, native american, parent, police, teens
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My son’s sign for the March for Our Lives
My son’s sign for March for Our Lives got some attention today. He told me after the march that his school does not always tell him when a lockdown is a drill, and it scares him. Continue reading
Posted in and my super opinion, parenting
Tagged enough, fear, guns, lockdown drills, marchforourlives, school shootings
1 Comment
Conquering a Dragon in Psychology Today
My first post for Psychology Today is about bringing some reasonable risk and more creativity to American playgrounds — so our children have the chance to learn how to manage risk and face their fears. German kids enjoy playing on structures … Continue reading
Posted in and my super opinion, Commentary, Germany, parenting
Tagged adventure, playgrounds, psychology today, risk
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Rebuilding the American Community — First: Stop Calling the Police on Parents
Photo by Matty Ring When I heard that Americans were calling the cops on parents, I hoped that maybe a few incidents would make people see reason and stop. Then, it happened to one of my friends. Recently, my friend … Continue reading
Posted in Achtung Baby, and my super opinion, Commentary, Germany, parenting
Tagged freekids, police
1 Comment
Sara Zaske 
What parents can learn from the Westboro Baptist Church
Some thoughts on the value of obedience: I expected Unfollow, Megan Phelps-Roper’s memoir about leaving the extremist Westboro Baptist Church, to be a book of hope, an argument for the power of free speech, and in some ways it is. … Continue reading →