Child Reported Frolicking! 10 Terrible Kid-Coddling Stories

And four reasons for hope

Mar 11, 2025

∙ Paid

woman in black jacket and white pants sitting on concrete floor during daytime — Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

Terrible stories are cautionary tales of the crazy turns a culture can take when it stops trusting kids to do almost anything on their own.

So here are 10 cautionary tales and four reasons for hope.

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A guest post by

Lenore Skenazy

President and co-founder of Let Grow (LetGrow.org), the nonprofit promoting childhood independence. Founder of the Free-Range Kids movement. For more info, Google "America's Worst Mom." Really