Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone

a reply to: infolurker

Thats cool, my local paper wont hire anyone under 14 without a parent being with them on the route.

I too had one when i was of age.

a reply to: queenofswords

I wont keep him in a cage, i will be there to guide him through life and make sure he know where the dangers are what is acceptable and not.

< sigh > When yours is old enough to start talking back & asserting their right to independence, you'll learn to pick your battles more wisely. Mine weren't allowed to go outside alone in Florida because we lived off a major thoroughfare in town, it wasn't safe with all the traffic. Had we lived more rural or in a much smaller town, they may have been able to with other kids out & about (it's more common in the FL sticks than the cities) We'll see how it is where we are up here over time, we're still getting familiar with the town as it is.

But one mile is too far? Eff that. When I was 10 & my younger brother was 7, we walked/biked/rollerbladed to my dad's house from ours nearly daily. My dad lived a little over a mile away. No big deal. When we lived in Korea, my friends and I (at 8/9) used to hop the subway ourselves, the buses, walked through god knows how many sections of the city unaccompanied. Never had a problem, none whatsoever. Prior to living there, I biked all over the neighborhood in FL, I biked over 2 miles depending on where friends lived at 6/7 to go play. We even went over to the little hidden mainland beach in the neighborhood, which required trudging through some very dense FL brush to get to. We knew what animals to watch for, and to hightail it the hell out of there if we saw something like a gator or boar.

The problem isn't parents per se, it's parents not being allowed to teach their kids to be responsible and self-sufficient any more. And it's not so much the government, it's people like Shane here, nagging the government into intervening when it's not needed. Thanks Shane. Appreciate it.

a reply to: Nyiah

HEY NOW. I'm not begging them i am begging you to take care of your frigging kids before the nanny state dictates that they have to take control.

Quit twisting my points into something they are not.

Truthfully, its the mass of posters in this thread that are doing the hard work for me. Your all proving my point, you don't want to listen to the government tell you how to take care for you kids, then do it right the first time and they wouldn't.

originally posted by: shaneslaughta
a reply to: Nyiah

HEY NOW. I'm not begging them i am begging you to take care of your frigging kids before the nanny state dictates that they have to take control.

Quit twisting my points into something they are not.

Look, helicopter parenting is bullchit, brother. That does not teach self-reliance & responsibility, it teaches dependance & solidifies a crutch in life. Want to know why so many 20-30-somethings are such damned fragile & stupid adults? They had their hand held their entire lives, smothered in mommy & daddy's ever-watchful bubble-wrap parenting. Letting a kid learn to navigate life solo is one of the foundations laid in youth that impact them for life. They need to learn to be aware of their surroundings & what to do with them, and yes a lot of younger kids are capable of learning this if a parent is just willing to teach them. You can't make it through life oblivious & relying on someone else to guard you, you have to start somewhere. 10 years old like this kid in the article is plenty old enough.

@ OP
I am sorry i seem to have totally taken over your thread, i didn't mean to. I just have a very passionate standpoint on this as with a few other things.

a reply to: shaneslaughta

Most of us posting in response to your opinions have done it right. We have raised kids that have turned out great! Most of us have also watched other parents raise kids that have not turned out great, and we have seen the parenting practices that have lead to that result.

Please at least listen to us and consider our advice.

a reply to: shaneslaughta

I'm with you. Many parents these days are clueless and self-absorbed. God forbid the schools discipline or monitor their health or habits - but they don't/won't do it.

In my own neighborhood I've had kids come to play at my house - all day. Just left home in the morning and the parents had no idea where they were. I'd have called them to let them know but I don't even know their parents much less the phone numbers. They would eat meals/snacks with us regularly. I had one kid that ate breakfast, lunch and dinner with us multiple times. Once he brought his dog and told us his dog was hungry too. This is a middle class neighborhood.

Just this New Years Eve there was a pack of little kids in our neighborhood, ranging in age from only 3 years old to 3rd grade running the streets, in the freezing cold, at 9 o'clock at night - unsupervised. Scary stuff.

Kudos to whoever was looking out for the two kids referenced in the article.

originally posted by: shaneslaughta
a reply to: queenofswords

In a little over a month, and this kinda crap terrifies me.

Congrats then! I remember all the endless fears that new parenting brings. Then those little helpless wiggle worms start growing up and pushing the boundaries every chance they get. A 6 or 10 year old can be surprisingly mature or amazingly immature, each kid is different and what you allow them to do at any age depends a lot on their maturity level. I'm sure you'll be a great dad.

a reply to: Nyiah

Where in the hell did i ever say that i was gonna bubble wrap my kid and lock them in a closet?

Even between the lines i can not see this.

Sure you have to pick and choose the battles but kids under 10 have no place wandering the streets alone. That is not a battle that's just good parenting.

Your totally misconstruing my point to all my posts.

Its a child by child basis as they all develop at a different speed. They learn at different rates. I'm not going to say every child should be coddled till 16 or anything. I'm saying that you need to take your own common sense and knowledge about your child and help him/her make the best decisions they can.

Letting them roam free wont do that, it will juts get them hurt or killed, weather by humans or animals or mother nature.

originally posted by: Montana
a reply to: shaneslaughta

Most of us posting in response to your opinions have done it right. We have raised kids that have turned out great! Most of us have also watched other parents raise kids that have not turned out great, and we have seen the parenting practices that have lead to that result.

Please at least listen to us and consider our advice.

I sure have, i have taken the time to read and respond to most of the posts here. But your stating an opinion not fact.

Fact is, the world is ugly scary dangerous place and kids have no place going it alone learning the hard way.

a reply to: kosmicjack

Thanks jack, i mm glad i not the only one who has a shred of morals, decency and compassion for the children.

originally posted by: eeyipes

originally posted by: shaneslaughta
a reply to: queenofswords

In a little over a month, and this kinda crap terrifies me.

Congrats then! I remember all the endless fears that new parenting brings. Then those little helpless wiggle worms start growing up and pushing the boundaries every chance they get. A 6 or 10 year old can be surprisingly mature or amazingly immature, each kid is different and what you allow them to do at any age depends a lot on their maturity level. I'm sure you'll be a great dad.

Thank you. I was going to get to the development point but so many people jumped on my with their opinions i just forgot about it.

a reply to: shaneslaughta

Im sorry good sir but you have zero morals, calling people idiots because you are scared of the big bad world, if you want to live in your bubble of fear go for it, but leave the rest of us enjoying life.

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originally posted by: shaneslaughta

originally posted by: Montana

originally posted by: shaneslaughta
Its ok, they re your kids, may you live with your terrible parenting choices after something happens to them.

Over-protective parenting IS a terrible parenting choice. Please get some counseling before you ruin your child's life.

Seriously.

LOL I turned out just fine and smart enough to know that little kids deserve our up most care and guidance above all else. But hey let your kids run loose, let them get takes or killed.

Please do, i love a good read on the idiocy of humankind.

I will protect my child with my last breath.

And many, many, many parents thought letting their children be alter boys was a very secure place for their child to be.....we know how that turned out.

a reply to: dukeofjive696969

NO im not afraid of the world. Im afraid of the unscrupulous people who wander the streets. Im afraid of the people that haven't been caught.

I'm afraid for my child's well being and safety in this world. Ive seen it getting uglier and uglier by the year.

I never directly called anyone an idiot i said they were idiot parents, that's my opinions and im sticking to it.

a reply to: shaneslaughta

Yes, maturity plays a big part. At 10 my kids were riding bikes to the corner store for candy, or hitting up the local pizza place with their friends. But the area they grew up in was very small, safe and rural. They were mature for their age, and could be trusted to roam, and leave a tip at the local diner.

Now in contrast, I have a niece who is living a bubble-wrapped life in a large suburban area. At 10 years old I couldn't trust her to play in my front yard without chatting up every stranger walking their dog down the street. I didn't trust her to walk 2 blocks to the school park to play, because I wasn't sure she would stay there or stay away from strangers. She didn't have the same maturity level, and needed extra supervision.

In the case of the parents in the article, I will not say that they are bad parents as there is so much we don't know. I don't know the area the kids were in, how mature or experienced they are, if the distance was really a mile (could have been less), or what safety precautions the parents were using with their kids. I've heard of free range parents in cities who will let their kids walk or even ride subways, but will secretly trail behind them watching over them until they feel secure the kids can handle themselves. Even though my kids are older, I have apps on their phones that let me see their GPS location at anytime. I think these parents were well aware of the risks and benefits of letting the kids take a walk, and are doing the best parenting they can.