Kids Are More Anxious. What If We Gave Them Independence?
Giving kids freedom doesn't just help children, says Lenore Skenazy, founder of the nonprofit Let Grow. It helps parents, too.
Parenting
The Story About THC-Laced Halloween Candy Shifts From Malevolent Strangers to Careless Parents
The change in official warnings and news coverage reflects the dearth of evidence that malicious pranksters are trying to dose trick-or-treaters.
'Let Parents Decide' What Kids Can Do Online, Argue Tech Groups in New Lawsuit
The groups are challenging a Florida law that bans some teens from social media.
The Georgia Case Against a School Shooter's Father Treats an Inattentive Parent As a Murderer
The charges, which could send Colin Gray to prison for the rest of his life, are part of a broader attempt to criminalize parental failures.
Kids Should Be Blindfolded and Dropped in the Woods at Night
In the Netherlands, kids grow up with more independence than in the United States.
The Government Is Taking Babies Away Because Their Moms Ate Poppy Seeds
Unreliable drug tests are sparking unnecessary child welfare investigations.
Season 2, Episode 2 Health Care
Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Who Decides What Health Care Is 'Needed'?
Too often, it's government bureaucrats acting under the influence of special interests and against the wishes of doctors and patients, with sometimes tragic results.
A Georgia Teenager Killed 4 People at His High School. Why Is His Father Charged With Murder?
The case is another example of stretching criminal laws to hold parents accountable for their children's violence.
British TV Star in Trouble With Child Services After Letting a 15-Year-Old Take a Trip
Kirstie Allsopp posted online about her teen son's trip around Europe. Then someone reported her to the government.
The Best of Reason: The Fragile Generation
Bad policy and paranoid parenting are making kids too safe to succeed.
Homeschooling Grows as an Escape from Failing Schools and Curriculum Fights
Turned off by fumbling public schools and curriculum wars, families teach their own kids.
J.D. Vance Wants To Control You With Taxes
People making the same income should be paying the same level of taxes no matter how they choose to live their lives.
The Best of Reason Magazine: A Baby Dies in Virginia
The lethal consequences of a common, obscure hospital licensing law.
Senate To Vote on Web Censorship Bill Disguised as Kids Safety
The Kids Online Safety Act would have cataclysmic effects on free speech and privacy online.
New Jersey Wants Your Baby's Genes
Collecting and analyzing newborns' blood could allow the state to surveil people for life.
The Best of Reason: Child Welfare Systems Are Trapping Innocent Families
Georgia parents were accused of child abuse after they took their daughter to the doctor. Does the state's story add up?
Child Welfare Systems Are Trapping Innocent Families
Georgia parents were accused of child abuse after they took their daughter to the doctor. Does the state's story add up?
Ruth Whippman: How Is Masculinity Changing?
Ruth Whippman discusses her new book BoyMom: Reimagining Boyhood in the Age of Impossible Masculinity.
Is Inside Out 2 Secretly About Helicopter Parenting?
In the sequel to 2015's Inside Out, letting kids grow up means relinquishing control.
'Independence Therapy' Could Revolutionize Treatment for Child Anxiety
A pilot study encouraged parents to let their kids go free-range.
A Federal Judge Rejects the Lame Excuses of Texas Cops Who Kidnapped a Supposedly 'Abandoned' Teenager
The decision clears the way for a jury to consider Megan and Adam McMurry's constitutional claims against the officers who snatched their daughter.
The Best of Reason: Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
Parents, Not Lax Regulation, To Blame for Tweens' Excessive Screen Time
We need parents with better phone habits, not more government regulation of social media.
WARNING: You Won't Like This New Label
Plus: Ex-NSA chief joins forces with OpenAI, conscription squads hunt Ukrainian draft-dodgers, and more...
Federally Funded Dad Jokes
Does America really need a National Strategic Dad Jokes Reserve?
Government Can't Fix America's Baby Bust
The obstacles to having more babies can't be moved by tax incentives or subsidized child care.
How Free-Range Kids Became an Answer on Jeopardy!
It took a lot of work to clear this quiz show milestone.
Don't Co-Parent With Congress
Instead of lobbying for age verification and youth social media bans, parents can simply restrict their kids' smartphone use.
Do Schools Really Need To Give Parents Live Updates on Students' Performance?
This new school-to-parent pipeline allows parents to micromanage yet another aspect of their kids' lives.
Coddled Kids Become Depressed, Anti-Social College Students
Young people need independent play in order to become capable adults.
California's New Social Media Law Invites Expensive Lawsuits
Instead of trusting parents to manage their families, lawmakers from both parties prefer to empower the Nanny State.
Abigail Shrier: Stop Obsessing Over Our Children's Happiness
The author of Bad Therapy argues that we have created a generation of "emotional hypochondriacs."
A Cop Shot Her 11-Year-Old Son. Now She Might Lose Custody of Her Kids.
The local prosecuting attorney in Sunflower, Mississippi, is seeking to take away Nakala Murry's three children.
The Bad Science Behind Jonathan Haidt's Call to Regulate Social Media
Only 22 of the 476 studies in The Anxious Generation contain data on either heavy social media use or serious mental issues among adolescents, and none have data on both.
Parents Investigated for Letting 7-Year-Old Get a Cookie From the Store
"You just can't raise kids like that anymore—it isn't safe," the cops told the Widner family.
What Do We Owe the Kids?
Plus: Gun detection in the subway system, Toronto's rainwater tax, goat wet nurses, and more...
Parents Don't Want Schools to Confiscate Kids' Phones
A new survey highlights how fear-based parenting drives phone-based childhoods.
Blaming Tech for Teen Troubles
Jonathan Haidt’s clever, insufficient case against smartphones.
DeSantis Vetoed a Social Media Age-Verification Law, but That Doesn't Mean He Won't Sign a New One
A law forcing kids off social media sites is still likely coming to Florida.
Virginia Surrogacy Bill Doesn't Go Far Enough
Allowing surrogacy brokers to be paid is good. Allowing surrogates themselves to be paid would be better.
The Best of Reason: Why Are Teens Depressed? It's Not Social Media.
Maybe the problem for teens isn't screens, but what they are replacing.
Iowa Court Clears Mom of Endangerment Charges After She Let Kids Babysit
"No parent can shield a child from all risks," the Iowa Supreme Court ruled.
States Try To Strip Sex From Literature in Libraries, Schools
These aren't outright bans. But they still can chill free speech and academic freedom.
Frozen Embryos Are Now Children Under Alabama Law
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Tom Parker cited the Bible to explain why.
Are Parents Too Involved in Their Adult Children's Lives?
A recent Pew survey says parents are "very involved in their young adult children's lives," but one might quibble with the definition of "very involved."
Why Are Teens Depressed? It's Not Social Media.
Maybe the problem for teens isn't screens, but what they are replacing.
Mom's Manslaughter Conviction for Her Son's School Shooting Sets a Dangerous Precedent
In some sense, the case seemed to hinge on what prosecutors wished the law said, not on what it actually says.
Jennifer Crumbley Case Hinges On Whether She 'Willfully' Ignored Her Son's Inclination To Commit Mass Murder
Michigan jurors are considering whether Crumbley's carelessness amounted to involuntary manslaughter.
