Free Range Kid Goes To Central Park, Takes Subway Alone, Too

Free Ranging doesn't apply to the Today Show: Izzy and Lenore Skenazy back in 2008

After successfully provoking discussion about the lost days of letting kids go to the park—gasp—alone earlier this week, Free Range Kids author Lenore Skenazy headed to Central Park yesterday for "Leave Your Kids at the Park Day," dropping 12-year-old son Izzy at the Ancient Playground. Skenazy told the Daily News, "There used to be this ancient thing called play."

Back in 2008, Skenazy caused a bit of an uproar when she let the then-9-year-old Izzy take the subway by himself. On the brink of his teenage years, Izzy is still excited about his freedom, "I love it - there's so much more I can do. I can go see a friend in a completely different borough... In elementary school everyone had their parents everywhere... [and] random people...would say, 'Where are your parents?'" Naturally, when Central Park playtime was over, the News reports, "Izzy was taking the subway alone to Queens while his mother went to lunch in Manhattan."

Skenazy's supporters are telling her about how their kids fared in the parks by themselves; one said, "My 11 year old LOVED it! Played with two friends of his for hours. It was raining and he got good and muddy. He come home exhausted but full of stories about his day!" while another shared, "Can’t do the park thing today, my 8 year old daughter has an all day event at Girl Scout camp, but I did leave my 6 year old son in the car while I went into the local library to check out your book :)"

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By Jen Chung in News on May 23, 2010 11:16 AM

Comments [rss]

robingee

These two just look annoying.

Clarice City

Um...Ari Tenenbaum?

http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/Chas--Uzi--Ari--Margot---Royal-the-royal-tenenbaums-157232_485_284.jpg

Mordicai

"Free Range Kids, also known as 'kids'..."

Seriously, what a weird non-issue.

henryhamilton

I like the Free Range Kid. He needs his own reality show.

Humptydank

Yeah, because I think we all know what's going to happen sweeps week.

jchez

Somewhere in Manhattan, the parents of Etan Patz are crying.

jaycjay

Etan Patz disappeared while walking two blocks to catch his school bus. In 1979.

So what that example actually shows is that it's probably no more likelihood today for a kid to come to harm than there's ever been, and that it's probably just as risky to keep kids on the family's familiar block as it is to let them go across Manhattan on the subway.

In fact, the subway may be among the safest places for them. They'll always be around adults, with authority figures always easy to find.

dhex

and tens of thousands of other parents who let their kids grow up without a 24/7 surveillance chokehold aren't.

outliers make for bad rules, bruh.

Amanda Harletsch

In Paris or Berlin, kids ride the subway to go to school sans mothers... no much problem there. Perhaps the degree of class tensions make the experience not fit for kids in NY

CR

Uh, there were huge riots in Paris a couple of years ago based on class-tensions...

Another well-informed comment from Amanda.

FinalShaft

but I did leave my 6 year old son in the car while I went into the local library to check out your book :)"

ummmm not quite the same thing. I wouldn't even do that to a dog. What a lame parent. "Sorry Johnny, I'm going to the big scary library. I don't want you to get the wrong impression that reading is fun."

really!?!?

It's not like she left him there while she went to the movies. When I was that age my mom left me in the car all the time when I didn't want to go into the supermarket or whatever. I loved it because it was the only time I got to control the radio.