Lenore Skenazy, Founder of the Free-Range Kids movement

Let go and let grow: Independence is childhood’s rocket fuel

After her column "Why I Let My 9 Year Old Ride the Subway Alone" landed her on every talk show from The Today Show to Dr. Phil, Lenore Skenazy got labeled “America’s Worst Mom.”

She turned around and founded “Free-Range Kids,” the movement that says kids are NOT in constant danger. That endeavor grew into “Let Grow,” a non-partisan nonprofit working to make it easy, normal, and legal to give kids back some independence.

A journalist herself, she spent 14 years at the New York Daily News and has written for everyone from The Wall Street Journal to Mad Magazine. Her reality show “World’s Worst Mom,” airs on Discovery Life (from time to time, late at night, in re-runs).

Last year, Utah became the first state to pass a "Free-Range Parenting Law," guaranteeing parents the right to let their kids do things like walk to school or play at the park without being investigated for neglect.

Open to the public. Free Admission.