Reclaiming Childhood

Freedom and Play in an Age of Fear

by Helene Guldberg, Ph.D.

Only humans have morality, not animals

In his attempt to prove that beasts have morals, Dale Peterson airbrushes away all the things that make humans unique in the animal kingdom. Read More

Exploring the chasm that separates great apes from humans

Humans are not just social, we are 'ultra social.' Read More

Restating the case for human uniqueness

The evidence for apes having human-like mental capacities is getting weaker and weaker.

We have built cities, cured diseases and created art, yet some people think humans are worth no more than apes. Read More

Can orang-utans really mime?

Experts should know better than to claim that great apes can communicate in a similar way to human beings. Read More

How the pedophile panic harms children

Two parents, Oliver and Gillian Schonrock, have inspired a heated debate in the UK this week about how much independence children should have. The couple from south London have been allowing their eight-year-old daughter and five-year-old son to cycle one mile unsupervised from their home to school. Read More

Chimps don't mourn like humans

A handful of chimp mothers carrying around their dead babies is not evidence of ‘human-like’ qualities. Read More

The myth of racist kids

The problem with anti-bullying and anti-racist policies Read More

Standing up to supernanny

‘It should be a wonderful time to be a parent. Read More

The myth of depressed and messed up kids

‘As I sometimes say to parents, I wish I had a dollar for every time I have read, in the last ten years, the words "children" and "crisis" in the same sentence. I'd be set for life', writes psychotherapist Dr. David Anderegg in Worried All the Time: Rediscovering the joys in parenthood in an age of anxiety. Read More

The 'stranger danger' panic is creating a hostile adult world

Some of the UK's leading children's authors have announced this week that they are refusing to take part in readings in schools because of the new policy that requires them to undergo criminal records checks to prove they are not sex offenders. Read More

Chimps are like humans? Stop monkeying around

A brilliant new book cuts through all the media-oriented research about ‘clever chimps' using tools, doing maths and feeling human emotions, and reminds us that, in truth, there is nothing remotely human about non-human primates.

Dr Michael Fitzpatrick, author of Defeating Autism, recently talked to me about how raising a child with autism can be made infinitely harder - emotionally, financially and practically - by the charlatanic ‘war on autism'. Read More

Stop fretting about Children's Play

Earlier this week the UK clinical psychologist and television supernanny, Professor Tanya Byron, warned that parental ‘paranoia' about child safety could expose children to greater risks indoors. She warned that by denying children the opportunity to play outside, they are likely to face greater dangers inside from cyber-bullying or sexual predators. Read More