In 2008, a New York mother was criticized for allowing her nine-year-old son to ride the subway alone.

Labelled 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Worst Mom,鈥� Lenore Skenazy, spent time on The Daily Show, CBC, and was interviewed by the New York Times and Washington Post among other news outlets as she argued for 鈥淔ree-Range Kids.鈥�

鈥淚 have focused for the last eight years on how we got so afraid for our kids鈥� that fascinates me, the fact that somehow we believe that our kids are incapable of doing the same things we did as children and surviving,鈥� said Skenazy.

She鈥檚 providing presentations to the Okanagan and surrounding areas, speaking on free-range parenting.

Skenazy will be making rounds to 琉璃神社 on Jan. 23, at the Rotary Centre for Arts and at UBCO at 7, Jan. 24 at 10 a.m. for professionals.

In Salmon Arm, Skenazy will give a talk, Jan. 25, at Sullivan campus.

This event came about because of CATCH Coalition (Community Action Towards Children鈥檚 Health) in 琉璃神社, as they asked Skenazy to speak to create a community conversation.

Skenazy will ask parents questions like why won鈥檛 they allow their children to do the same things they did when they were young?

鈥淲e talk about how come that is. There鈥檚 something in the culture that has made it almost impossible to raise our kids the way we were raised. A lot of it is based on fear,鈥� she said.

Skenazy鈥檚 reasoning comes from the 24-hour news cycle, saying how it exaggerates the likelihood of an child abductions.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not like I hate the media, I just hate what the media feels like it sometimes has to do, which is show us the worst, scariest picture of the world so we鈥檒l keep watching.鈥�

Part of the reason for parental fear also comes from our litigious society, she said.

鈥淲hen you live in a litigious society, you start thinking like a lawyer. Like, oh my god, I found a dime in my soup and I could鈥檝e choked, and sued the place for a million dollars.鈥�

School Bus is Safer Than Carpooling!

鈥� Lenore Skenazy (@FreeRangeKids)

Marketing plays another role, she said.

She used the example of the list publishing 10 of the most dangerous toys for children, noting how ridiculous the reasons were.

A popular toy dinosaur was listed as dangerous because the button to activate the toy is set on the 鈥渞igid鈥� tail, which could puncture the child.

鈥淵ou can come up with dangerous for everything, and we do,鈥� she said.

鈥淔ree-Range Kids鈥� is a concept Skenazy created to combat the helicopter parent.

It鈥檚 letting a child have their independence and experiment on their own.

鈥淚 never present myself as a parenting expert鈥� but you don鈥檛 need to be an expert to raise your kids. I can鈥檛 get your kid to take a nap or eat his broccoli, but I guess I鈥檓 an expert on fear,鈥� she said.

After eight years of doing talks and spreading her philosophy, she feels like people have split opinions.

鈥淎t first when I started my blog, twice in a row my one was the most controversial of the mommy blogs. It was so radical what I was saying. 鈥楳aybe we should get a grip on the fact that the stranger danger, for the most part, is a myth. Certainly, it鈥檚 presented to us out of proportion with the reality.鈥�

At first, the label of 鈥淎merica鈥檚 Worst Mother鈥� bothered her, she worried for her children. But as time continued and the attention grew, she became accustomed to it and people began to accept the idea of free-range parenting.

It鈥檚 (become) sort of who I am,鈥� she said.

Children feel happier when they鈥檙e left to discover things on their own, she said.

鈥淧eople feel happy when they have some control over their lives,鈥� said Skenazy.

Reservations for the presentations can be made at .

The event is full sold out except for the Jan. 24 event at UBCO.