Lenore Skenazy’s New Show Brings Free-Range Parenting to Your TV Screen
Show airs Thursdays at 9 pm on Discovery Life
Robby Soave|Jan. 22, 2015 3:52 pm
Reason contributor and super-star Lenore Skenazy will be dousing the flames of parental paranoia on her very own show, “World’s Worst Mom,” beginning Thursday (tonight) at 9:00 p.m. EST on the Discovery Life channel.
The title is a satirical jape at Skenazy, who has embraced that distinction as a form of protest against helicopter parenting. Readers of her work here at Reason—and at her blog, Free-Range Kids—know that Skenazy is dedicated to the cause of helping parents put aside irrational (often debilitating) fears regarding their children’s safety. On her show, Skenazy meets with real parents whose anxieties have made them stifle their kids’ independence—such as a mother who spoon-feeds her 10-year-old son because she’s afraid he will choke, and won’t let him ride a bike. Skenazy’s mission is to show these parents that the healthiest thing they can do for their children is let them try new things, spend time alone, and discover that the world isn’t such a scary place, after all.
“World’s Worst Mom,” is real: the hyper-protective parents featured on it are real, worries and all. And while they represent the far-end of helicopter parenting, too many adults share some of their fears—even though kids are growing up today in the safest time in world history.
https://reason.com/blog/2015/01/22/lenore-skenazys-new-tv-show-brings-free