Mom to Mom

[SunValley]

And then there are the kids who may not cross the line of physical harm but think it’s funny to scare younger kids. Happened last summer to the 13-year-old in my family and her friend while at the neighborhood park—two 18 or 19-year olds thinking it was fun to harass them and make comments about their figures. The girls were at the park with siblings and it shook them all up. There is no safety in numbers if harassers are older and more powerful. The boldness of today’s creeps is unnerving.

[Tyak]

I'm going to look it up as I have no idea what the term means.

I looked it up.  Great, just what the world needs.  More kids growing up with basically no supervision.  

[Alison Wonderland]

It's what they used to just call "parenting" before helicopter parents decided that kids couldn't just go outside to play with neighbor kids, they had to have a scheduled play date.

[Alison Wonderland]

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@itsmagic wrote:

When I grew up (back in the day) I remember walking or riding my bike everywhere during my elementary school years without an adult by my side. But now I don’t feel like it is safe. 

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That's a false perception. Crime has dropped over the last few decades and we're safer now. Most kids who are abused, molested, or abducted are harmed by people they know and usually in places they are familiar with, like their own homes. "Stranger Danger" is largely a myth. The most memorable cases of abductions are usually the ones by strangers, in part because those cases are so rare. 

[Alison Wonderland]

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@SunValley wrote:

This law assumes parents have good judgment, that children will make sensible decisions on what is safe or appropriate when faced with situations on their own, that children will not get into mischief, and that nothing bad will happen (open water like canals, roaming dogs, traffic, and weirdos) because, well, statistically it won’t. The perfect storm...

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What statistics are you using?

[SunValley]

@Alison Wonderland statistics are not safeguards. They are a calculation, and IMHO no child placed in harm’s way has been helped by one.

[Lynnster67]

ITA!!!

Here in the DC suburb of Takoma Park several years ago, child protective services was called b/c a 10-yo boy and his 8-yo sister were walking home from the park/library unaccompanied (the 10-yo did have a "jitterbug" style phone in case of emergency).  The "free-range" parents were deeply offended and sued.  The mother is now running for a county council seat

Growing up near Amish country, there was no such thing as play-dates, etc.  You just rode your bike around the neighborhood.  I wasn't supposed to cross any major roads (more than 1 lane each direction) but sometimes I did anyway and lived to tell the tale.  Of course, it probably helped that most moms stayed at home or worked part-time.

[Lynnster67]

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Exactly.  I stopped teaching because of the parents. 

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My aunt used to teach 1st grade but retired ~15 yrs ago b/c the kids were dropping bombs - eg:  "my mom is gonna kick the s- out of you", etc.  My aunt said she didn't get paid enough to deal w/that.  And this was in a relatively rural county, not the 'hood.

[Peaches McPhee]

I don't think that free-range parenting is the simple as letting your kids out to walk to school or to play in the yard. 

It is a hands-off approach to parenting in pretty much everything -- little or no no discipline, rules, formal school or homeschooling,  guidence.  Basically, the kids can do as they please; the theory being that the kids can decide for themselves what is best.  There are a couple of documentaries on YouTube about it (which I have watched, so of course now I am an expert ).  

I am kinda surprised at Utah, stereotypically speaking I thought Utah was pretty conservative.

[lovesrecess]

The world is so different today it is hard to get on this bandwagon and say children should be allowed to roam free with no adults around.....my daughters are grown now and even when they were younger I did not allow them to wander off alone. I do think cellphones do help keep track of their whereabouts though. I think you are taking a huge risk with your child's safety.....perhaps it is a way of taking on less responsibility by the parent under the guise of giving the child more of his own.....