I sat down with Lenore Skenazy, founder of the ‘free-range kids’ movement, to explore how fear-based parenting is holding our children back. Once dubbed “The World’s Worst Mom” for letting her 9-year-old ride the New York City subway alone, Lenore has since become a powerful voice challenging the culture of overprotection and anxiety that dominates American parenting. She explains how safetyism, media sensationalism, and misguided laws have created a generation of kids who are less confident, less capable, and more dependent than ever before. Lenore is also the co-founder of Let Grow, an organization dedicated to making it “easy, normal, and legal” to get kids out into the world.
Follow Lenore on X (formerly Twitter): https://x.com/FreeRangeKids
Learn more about Let Grow: https://letgrow.org/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=12566296070&gbraid=0AAAAACiZd3IWxylN25lbtWazgN-I9BMWb&gclid=Cj0KCQjwoZbBBhDCARIsAOqMEZXmIfShjY9u4V6kj3Z9BCi7HiM5WBNdeXKwydzyDSMxpAXmzKJ5vfcaAtRPEALw_wcB
“Off the Rails” mini-doc: https://youtu.be/bxPPJVbygzs
Outline:
[0:00] The World’s Worst Mom
[10:16] How the “news” made parents afraid
[20:06] Expert culture overcomplicated parenting
[24:59] “Law and Order” isn’t real life
[30:38] We need action leaders, not thought leaders
[38:47] Parental anxiety is a societal mental illness
[45:47] How “Let Grow” became a clinical treatment
[57:40] Kids need to learn not to outsource their discomfort
[1:05:20] The creative process, hero’s journey, and freedom
[1:13:05] How the government makes the problem worse
[1:27:10] Did wealth and progressivism ruin childhood?
[1:37:56] Will the collapse of experts reset parenting?
[1:42:03] Phone surveillance eliminates trust building
[1:49:36] The tide might be turning
Watch the video version on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QyjPLDmvWQ8
Make a tax-deductible donation to Dad Saves America: https://secure.anedot.com/emergent-order-foundation/dad-website?
Visit our website: https://www.dadsavesamerica.com/
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