Free-range kids picked up AGAIN by police

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

No one will call the cops if kids are playing in a front yard...whether it's your yard or the neighbor down the street...because common sense dictates that a grown up is in the house or within earshot. The same is not true when kids are a mile away from home in a non-residential area (in this case, in front of a parking garage). A reasonable person did not see any adults around, and there weren't any houses nearby...just a busy street.

Have you ever been there? Fenton Street is not a busy street.

I also don't understand the fear of non-residential areas (and parking garages! yikes!)

Not to mention that there was at least one adult around, namely the guy who called 911.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I was the poster she was correcting and I said she was right on the historical fact -- but it is an overblown comparison and only someone who's forefathers and mothers were not lynched, denied basic liberties would make this dumb ass comparison.

Fight for an equitable education system, fight for the elimination of childhood hunger and poverty, fight to end police brutality
Pure entitlement, tantrum crap.

We get it, you don't think this is important. So why do you keep posting on this thread?

Why do you keep responding to my posts.
And for the record, I keep posting for the same reason you do, because you want to

[Anonymous]

I just listened to the 911 dispatch call. Clearly these kids are not equipped to be off on their own. They weren't at the park. They had been wandering around the streets for 20 mins and approached the man who called 911 (approaching a strange man to ask to pet his dog) after he realized no parents were around and they were wandering. He also noticed they were wearing dirty clothes. They wandered through a parking lot, to Georgia Ave, behind random office buildings, etc.

I don't think this call illustrates that the kids are mature enough to be off on their own.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the law and regulations are unclear and that there's even some contradiction, since MCPS recognizes that children may walk to and from school without an adult. Some posters think what these parents did is illegal. Many others think it is not illegal.

It would help all parents if the authorities would issue clear guidance as to whether children under a certain age may be outside without an adult, walk to and from school or a park without adult supervision, etc.

It's pretty clearly illegal. Many posters think it shouldn't be, not that it isn't. I bet we'll get plenty of clarity very soon. Though there's a lot to be said for agency discretion in these matters.

Is it? There seems to be disagreement. So you think it is illegal for children under the age of 8 to play outside without an adult present?

Yes, if it's completely unsupervised. That doesn't include on the block or on the street where the parents can see them or in the yard where the parents can check through the window every once in a while.

OK, so you're saying it's only legal for kids under 8 to play outside without an adult if parents can see them out the window? Where does the law stipulate this?

It's much more general than that. You asked for my interpretation. That's it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just listened to the 911 dispatch call. Clearly these kids are not equipped to be off on their own. They weren't at the park. They had been wandering around the streets for 20 mins and approached the man who called 911 (approaching a strange man to ask to pet his dog) after he realized no parents were around and they were wandering. He also noticed they were wearing dirty clothes. They wandered through a parking lot, to Georgia Ave, behind random office buildings, etc.

I don't think this call illustrates that the kids are mature enough to be off on their own.

And there you go. The evil police state might have had good reason to investigate. Move on to the next conspiracy theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just listened to the 911 dispatch call. Clearly these kids are not equipped to be off on their own. They weren't at the park. They had been wandering around the streets for 20 mins and approached the man who called 911 (approaching a strange man to ask to pet his dog) after he realized no parents were around and they were wandering. He also noticed they were wearing dirty clothes. They wandered through a parking lot, to Georgia Ave, behind random office buildings, etc.

I don't think this call illustrates that the kids are mature enough to be off on their own.

I know, right? They left a park with dirty clothes, and actually approached a stranger. Definitely not ready to leave the house by themselves. But when the boy is 11, then it'll be fine, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG!!! We get that the law is vague. But it's been pointed out that both CPS and the courts have discretion to interpret it rather broadly...and they have. And common sense dictates that it's okay for your kid to play in your yard but not okay to play a mile away.

And everyone's definition of "common sense" is the same?

You need to step away from the question mark key. No one is going to stop thinking about the underlying issues in this case if you, I don't know, left this thread alone for fifteen minutes.

There's more than one poster saying the same thing and asking the same questions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I just listened to the 911 dispatch call. Clearly these kids are not equipped to be off on their own. They weren't at the park. They had been wandering around the streets for 20 mins and approached the man who called 911 (approaching a strange man to ask to pet his dog) after he realized no parents were around and they were wandering. He also noticed they were wearing dirty clothes. They wandered through a parking lot, to Georgia Ave, behind random office buildings, etc.

I don't think this call illustrates that the kids are mature enough to be off on their own.

This is why I hate some of the stupid back and forth on this thread. Useful additions to the conversation like this post are going to get buried.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No one will call the cops if kids are playing in a front yard...whether it's your yard or the neighbor down the street...because common sense dictates that a grown up is in the house or within earshot. The same is not true when kids are a mile away from home in a non-residential area (in this case, in front of a parking garage). A reasonable person did not see any adults around, and there weren't any houses nearby...just a busy street.

Have you ever been there? Fenton Street is not a busy street.

I also don't understand the fear of non-residential areas (and parking garages! yikes!)

Not to mention that there was at least one adult around, namely the guy who called 911.

I can't help you if you're going to purposefully obtuse

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the law and regulations are unclear and that there's even some contradiction, since MCPS recognizes that children may walk to and from school without an adult. Some posters think what these parents did is illegal. Many others think it is not illegal.

It would help all parents if the authorities would issue clear guidance as to whether children under a certain age may be outside without an adult, walk to and from school or a park without adult supervision, etc.

It's pretty clearly illegal. Many posters think it shouldn't be, not that it isn't. I bet we'll get plenty of clarity very soon. Though there's a lot to be said for agency discretion in these matters.

Is it? There seems to be disagreement. So you think it is illegal for children under the age of 8 to play outside without an adult present?

Yes, if it's completely unsupervised. That doesn't include on the block or on the street where the parents can see them or in the yard where the parents can check through the window every once in a while.

OK, so you're saying it's only legal for kids under 8 to play outside without an adult if parents can see them out the window? Where does the law stipulate this?

It's much more general than that. You asked for my interpretation. That's it.

I understand what you're saying. But for those of us who wonder if someone will call CPS because our kid walks to the park with other kids, it would be nice to have some clarity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems like the law and regulations are unclear and that there's even some contradiction, since MCPS recognizes that children may walk to and from school without an adult. Some posters think what these parents did is illegal. Many others think it is not illegal.

It would help all parents if the authorities would issue clear guidance as to whether children under a certain age may be outside without an adult, walk to and from school or a park without adult supervision, etc.

It's pretty clearly illegal. Many posters think it shouldn't be, not that it isn't. I bet we'll get plenty of clarity very soon. Though there's a lot to be said for agency discretion in these matters.

Is it? There seems to be disagreement. So you think it is illegal for children under the age of 8 to play outside without an adult present?

Yes, if it's completely unsupervised. That doesn't include on the block or on the street where the parents can see them or in the yard where the parents can check through the window every once in a while.

Right. Do you really think that's the definition of supervised that would be okay to CPS? A former CPS worker posted on one of these threads that it's clearly neglect. What you're doing is clearly neglect to CPS, they just haven't been by yet.

No it isn't. I'm supervising. If the officer asked where the parent is, my kids would point at me. I don't think that would be an issue. If we see that start to become an issue, then I will agree that CPS is overreaching. But clearly they are not doing that

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

No one will call the cops if kids are playing in a front yard...whether it's your yard or the neighbor down the street...because common sense dictates that a grown up is in the house or within earshot. The same is not true when kids are a mile away from home in a non-residential area (in this case, in front of a parking garage). A reasonable person did not see any adults around, and there weren't any houses nearby...just a busy street.

Have you ever been there? Fenton Street is not a busy street.

I also don't understand the fear of non-residential areas (and parking garages! yikes!)

Not to mention that there was at least one adult around, namely the guy who called 911.

I live a block from there. Fenton Street IS a busy street. Meaning, there are a lot of people around all the time.

[Anonymous]

I listened to the 911 call also. The children petted the man's dog and then just walked along. Not doing anything wrong. They were never in a parking garage?

And the dirty clothes thing is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Ug, just looked at the mother's twitter feed. She clearly views herself as an activist/martyr wedded to a "philosophy." She should think more about her actual kids and less about her personal projects and rigid identity as a "free range parent."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ug, just looked at the mother's twitter feed. She clearly views herself as an activist/martyr wedded to a "philosophy." She should think more about her actual kids and less about her personal projects and rigid identity as a "free range parent."