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Momfidence! cheers on commonsense parenting and sighs at the rest. How to worry less, wing it more. A.k.a. parenting by the seat of my mid-rise mom jeans.
About Paula SpencerI'm the author of Momfidence! An Oreo Never Killed Anybody and Other Secrets of Happier Parenting, and a mom of four in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (where you can't even buy Oreos at the two wholesome groceries nearest to my home). 
A rare foto in which all six Spencers face the camera! by Charles Harris
Some Kindred Blogs
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Um, I Thought We WANTED Kids to Walk!August 28, 2008
There's a new rule at my school! "K-3 students may not walk or ride a bike home alone. A parent must accompany the child or designate an escort."
I bought my house a five-minute walk from the school so my children could walk home! They know the way! They cross no roads! (Even if they did there are crossing guards at key intersections all around the school.) In fact, they've walked home alone since kindergarten. I almost regret not having a child in this age group any more so I could make a big noise over this idiotic rule. If a parent didn't think it were safe for a particular child to walk home, she wouldn't let him. If she does, who is the school to question this judgment? And why? (I'm still trying to find out, just out of curiosity.) Makes a big joke out of the "Walk to School" week waged every fall in the district. Makes a big joke out of those let's-keep-kids-active-so-they-don't-get-fat campaigns. I am pretty sure Beverly Cleary's Ramona Quimby and her friend Howie walked to KINDERGARTEN unsupervised. Just last night I was reading a 1941 How and Why textbook (I love this genre): "When this baby [a pioneer baby circa 1840] was five years old, he could catch fish, set traps for rabbits, get wood for his mother, and drop corn in the furrows behind his father's plow. He followed flying bees and found their honey in hollow trees." But lucky thing he didn't have to go to elementary school...because he wouldn't be allowed to walk home!! |
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