Free-range parents cited but not charged

[Anonymous]

I walked over a mile to school by myself in K. The indepence wad scary at first, thsn linerating. This is crazy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Agreed entirely. And remember, CPS didn't make it a CPS situation - someone called in a concern to the police and then that automatically gets CPS involved. I'd rather live in a world where the sight of two relatively small kids (and from the news coverage, these kids looked as though they could well be younger than 6 and 10) wandering alone across busy streets prompts concern and inquiries rather than disregard.

Does CPS react like this to every case resulting from a call to the police? The issue is not that CPS got involved. The issue is that CPS continues to stay involved.

[Anonymous]

When people are more concerned about their own agenda than the consequences (whether or not they agree) -- then something is very wrong. If someone saw my kids walking along a major road alone and called the cops, who am I to mad at them? At least I know that if something really was wrong than there was a chance that someone saw something and called for help. And I may disagree with the law, but I'm going to follow it rather than get hung up with CPS for months. That is dumb as s***! Folks are way more attached to their so-called rights than doing what is right. Philosophy does not trump reality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

People. Not kids. I have 40 years of navigating urban traffic on the 10-year-old. He may be the most mature child in the country, but he does not have the experience to read drivers in an area that is that traffic-heavy. I won't even discuss how wrong it is that the 6-year-old is out there without adult supervision. Not a CPS situation, but I won't budge in my opinion that these parents are idiots.

Kids are people too.

And I'm astonished that you think it is wrong for a 6-year-old to be out in public without adult supervision. If you are 50, you should know from your own experience that 6-year-olds used to do this routinely. People's jaws would have dropped in disbelief at the idea that a 6-year-old needed a parental escort to walk to school.

Misquote my posts if you like, but in the meantime, I said "out there" without adult supervision. As in, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.* I myself walked to kindergarten alone for 9/10ths of a mile every day, but the street was not *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.*

[Anonymous]

9:35 -- Yes, please let me lock my kids in the house all day long or be up their asses until they are old enough not to maybe get kidnapped by strangers. That will do wonders for helping them learn to navigate the world on their own.

Enjoy having your kids in your basement when they are 35.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

New PP who works in downtown SS and lived here previously. I would not worry about muggings. I would worry--a lot--about traffic in this area. To say drivers are inconsiderate is putting it mildly. I'd be afraid they would not even see that 6-year-old.

I don't think the law should have gotten involved. I do think the parents are dumb to have let them navigate these particular streets. And I get really, really irritated when this story is reprinted elsewhere accompanied by a stock photo of a kid with his backpack, strolling down a sylvan pathway free of cars. That's not the terrain these kids were on.

No, the terrain the kids were on is a terrain that literally thousands and thousands of people traverse on foot every single day without incident.

Downtown Silver Spring is certainly not as pedestrian-friendly as I would like. But it's not the Beltway, either. And the parents know their own kids better than you or I do.

People. Not kids. I have 40 years of navigating urban traffic on the 10-year-old. He may be the most mature child in the country, but he does not have the experience to read drivers in an area that is that traffic-heavy. I won't even discuss how wrong it is that the 6-year-old is out there without adult supervision. Not a CPS situation, but I won't budge in my opinion that these parents are idiots.

+1000000000000000
And I am way over people saying that the parents know the kids better than anyone else. Hello -- a dumbass with a kid is still a dumbass. Granted, these parents do not seem malicious in any way, just bull-headed. I cannot imagine picking this as the hill to die on. Really -- it's so important to you that your kids be allowed to walk unsupervised down GA that you risk further involvement with legal authorities including CPS. You are one stubborn and foolish M***f***

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: When people are more concerned about their own agenda than the consequences (whether or not they agree) -- then something is very wrong. If someone saw my kids walking along a major road alone and called the cops, who am I to mad at them? At least I know that if something really was wrong than there was a chance that someone saw something and called for help. And I may disagree with the law, but I'm going to follow it rather than get hung up with CPS for months. That is dumb as s***! Folks are way more attached to their so-called rights than doing what is right. Philosophy does not trump reality.

It was not the parents' idea to get hung up with CPS for months. That was CPS's idea.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Misquote my posts if you like, but in the meantime, I said "out there" without adult supervision. As in, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.* I myself walked to kindergarten alone for 9/10ths of a mile every day, but the street was not *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.*

Oh, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring*? You mean the intersection with pedestrian signals, wide marked crosswalks, lots and lots of pedestrians, and a 25 mph (or 30, I don't remember) speed limit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Misquote my posts if you like, but in the meantime, I said "out there" without adult supervision. As in, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.* I myself walked to kindergarten alone for 9/10ths of a mile every day, but the street was not *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.*

Oh, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring*? You mean the intersection with pedestrian signals, wide marked crosswalks, lots and lots of pedestrians, and a 25 mph (or 30, I don't remember) speed limit?

My kids (age 10 & 12) routinely walk to places along busy Wilson Blvd. in the Clarendon area. Pretty much equivalent to that downtown Silver Spring area. I'm MORE comfortable with them there because it is well traveled with signals and good crosswalks. They also walk around our neighborhood and I remind them a lot more about being cautious there since it seems drivers are less consistent about stopping at neighborhood stop signs and they are much more likely to be approached by a creep in a car on a quiet, isolated neighborhood street than on busy Wilson Blvd. But, I still let them do it because it's important to learn to navigate the world and allowing that independence, with plenty of training to get to this point, builds their confidence in their own abilities.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Misquote my posts if you like, but in the meantime, I said "out there" without adult supervision. As in, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.* I myself walked to kindergarten alone for 9/10ths of a mile every day, but the street was not *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring.*

Oh, *Georgia Avenue in downtown Silver Spring*? You mean the intersection with pedestrian signals, wide marked crosswalks, lots and lots of pedestrians, and a 25 mph (or 30, I don't remember) speed limit?

My kids (age 10 & 12) routinely walk to places along busy Wilson Blvd. in the Clarendon area. Pretty much equivalent to that downtown Silver Spring area. I'm MORE comfortable with them there because it is well traveled with signals and good crosswalks. They also walk around our neighborhood and I remind them a lot more about being cautious there since it seems drivers are less consistent about stopping at neighborhood stop signs and they are much more likely to be approached by a creep in a car on a quiet, isolated neighborhood street than on busy Wilson Blvd. But, I still let them do it because it's important to learn to navigate the world and allowing that independence, with plenty of training to get to this point, builds their confidence in their own abilities.

Clarendon = Silver Spring. Thanks for the laugh!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:http://www.wjla.com/articles/2015/03/silver-spring-parents-charged-with-child-neglect-for-allowing-kids-to-walk-home-alone-112094.html

What a crazy world we live in. Statistics show the world is safer but yet government now has to decide when we as parents can let them have some independence. My 11yr old goes up to the park all the time with my 5yr old. I would be PISSED off if a cop stopped them and someone threatened my kids had to go to foster care while they investigate me.

I wouldn't be pissed off if a well intended law enforcement officer stopped and asked if they were OK, etc. Once it became clear that the kids are used to handling this responsibility (as they have been doing it for a while) it probably should rightly end there. The rest is kind of insane, IMO. But at the same time I keep getting the feeling that these parents are reveling in the attention so that they can soapbox their "cause", you know, the oppressed cause of affluent white children walking in affluent (or relatively so) neighborhoods unfettered so as to prove the superiority of parenting philosophies with strong online followings.

[Anonymous]

I would worry about visibility of kids who aren't very tall. And generally wreckless drivers. Can someone confirm if they were really crossing Georgia and Colesville or somewhere else along Ga?

I was extremely independent at age 10 and rode my bike all over the college town where I grew up, my parents didn't know where I was after school half the time because there were no safety concerns. But it was small town living, it wasn't a congested megalopolis. If my friend were allowing her 6 and 10 yo kids to cross at Ga and Colesville I'd most likely say something to her and if she were strong headed about it, I'd probably worry for the kids. Sometimes you have to be able to read drivers--their intentions, what they are likely to do, based on where they are looking, whether they are slowing down or speeding up, etc., and that ability can take a while to develop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:These parents seem to be focussing on their agenda more than on the reality of their kids/neighborhood. It's one thing to let your kids go outside and play on the same block, or at the park that is a block away. It's another thing to let them play 9-12 blocks away... if anything happened and they needed help, it would take a lot longer to get back and it's possible the hurt one would have to be left alone while the other went for help.

It's one thing to let your kids play in a neighborhood where they know people, it's something different when they are walking through areas where they know no one and there are random adults hanging around or a place where lots of cars are driving through.

It's one thing to leave a 10 yr old in charge of a 6 yr. old if they are in a very controlled setting and you will be out for a short time (i.e. you drop off the library books 1 mi. away while they are watching tv. at home), it's something different to leave a 10 yr. old full decision-making authority over a 6 yr. old in an uncontrolled environment (outside, streets, playground where swinging and climbing are happening). Kids get injured. My own kids have have playground dramas and traumas many times.

I don't disagree with the spirit of "free range parenting" -- but I do disagree with how these particular parents are implementing it. There's free-range, and then there's just stupid or negligent. IMO, they are the latter.

I agree with you 100%. I give my 10 year old some freedom - he can walk to the local school, in our neighborhood, and shoot hoops. He can stay home while I go to the grocery store. But I'm not letting him be in charge of his younger sister in downtown Silver Spring. I'm an adult and follow pedestrian safety guidelines and I've nearly been run over by crazy (or texting) drivers when in a crosswalk. It can be pretty harrowing in town centers like Silver Spring and Bethesda, where drivers (often teens) are reckless. No way is my ten year old navigating that with his younger sister a mile away from my home (she's 8, but an immature 8).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Clarendon = Silver Spring. Thanks for the laugh!

Why are you laughing? What is the difference between Wilson Blvd in Clarendon and Georgia Ave in Downtown Silver Spring?

[Anonymous]

As noted above, the way the parents have revelled in the media attention without any evident concern for how all that attention might affect the kids demonstrates they are unfit parents.