Free-range kids picked up AGAIN by police

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes, of course it's still true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not true that nobody has said otherwise. The police report said they were stopped by a parking garage -- clearly for long enough for someone to observe them, call the police, and the police to show up. So was that 5 minutes? 10 minutes? I don't know. But I do know that's not just walking home from the park.

What would I do if I saw a 6yo and a 10yo walking without a parent? Depends on where and how they seemed. If it was in my neighborhood and they seemed scared, I'd probably approach them and ask if I could help and where they lived. If it was really nearby, I'd go to where they said they lived and tell the parents nicely. If it was in my neighborhood and they seemed happy and on their way, I'd probably keep an eye from a distance and my hand on my phone in case something came up. If it was outside the residential neighborhood and more commercial, I'd probably keep an eye as long as I could, hoping adults would show up, and then if I had to go before they showed up, I would probably call the police. I wouldn't like doing it, but I would feel like I had to.

No, the police report didn't say that. Here is what the police report said:

On Sunday, April 12 at approximately 4:58 p.m., the Montgomery County Emergency Call Center received a call to check the welfare of two children in the area of Fenton and Easley Streets. The call was dispatched at 5:00 p.m. and the first officer arrived in the area at 5:01 p.m. The officer made contact with the complainant who directed the officer to the Fenton Street parking garage where the officer found the children.

Also, I'm going to continue with my assumption that the two callers called the police because they saw two children walking without a parent in a commercial district -- that's it, nothing more -- since you yourself say that you would call the police under those same circumstances.

So the kids were lingering by the parking garage for at least 3 minutes (not counting any time before the person called). And you're misrepresenting what I said. I said I'd watch and wait as long as I could hoping an adult would show up. So by your logic that this guy did what I would do, he may have been doing that for quite a while. Again, we simply don't know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So how come in 1980 it was said that for a 6yr old 1st grader to be ready for 1st grade, they should be able to walk 4-8 blocks on their own? What changed besides parent's paranoia.

A lot of what changed involved the child in New York City who was abducted and killed on the first day he'd been allowed to walk to school by himself. That have a lot of parents pause and a realization that something can go drastically wrong in a moment. We can't protect our children from every possible danger but I do believe that we are morally and ethically bound to do our best to keep them safe in appropriate ways.

So you think that was the first child to have ever been abducted? No one ever was in 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's? Kids die in car crashes everyday. Do you still drive them? Kids die in schools multiple times a month? Do you still send your kids to school?

And as a matter of fact in 1980 there was 2.8 abductions per 1000 kids. In 2012 it is now down to 1.3 per 1000 kids. 73% of those 1.3kids are from people the child knew. So just that alone shows that the internet and 24hr news channels are doing their job to keep you tuning in. Paranoia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Not making fun at all. Pointing out that we simply don't know his maturity level.

You use grammar as an indicator of maturity? Oh my.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes, of course it's still true.

Then your experience was very different from mine. I was not walking home from school alone under age 8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the Post published a column about this that only quotes the parents. They are hardly the most reliable narrators at this stage.

Kids roam all the time in MoCo without being picked up by police. I posted earlier about dozens of kids biking and walking up and down my very busy street every day; no parents and no one blinks an eye. These two kids have now repeatedly - at least 3 times - been in situations where random strangers have felt they were at risk.

There is no problem with kids being "free range" in this area; the issue is this family, and while I don't quite understand it, it doesn't sound to me that CPS is unwarranted here. Did anyone notice that in the police report, the kids were not found in a park - they were found in a parking garage. Enough with the rants against the police state. It's just not applicable here.

The police report does not say that the kids were found in a parking garage.

And if you are seeing crowds of middle-class kids in middle-class neighborhoods out and about on their own, with no parents, and no one blinks and eye, well, where do you live? It sounds like a nice neighborhood that I might want to move to.

Poolesville.

Which street in Poolesville is "very busy"? Also, how many children who go to Poolesville ES and live in walking distance walk to school by themselves?

Very late to follow up, but I'm the PP who said lots of kids in my neighborhood roam without parents, despite busy streets. Some other PP mentioned Poolesville, but my own experience is from North Chevy Chase. I'd guess at least 50+ kids walk to and from NCC Elementary every day despite crazy traffic, very few with parents (it's a school for grades 3 to 6). Kids ride bikes and walk around the neighborhood all the time. Zero interest or concern from police or CPS. I don't know why the Free Range Kids manage to attract so much government intervention, but I don't think their experience is anywhere close to the norm.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes I was born in 1974 and walked home from the half day K bus stop (2 blocks away) with 2 other K kids everyday at 12:13pm. I guess that is 3 guilty parents right there. After lunch, we all went back outside to play and then walked up to the bus stop at 3pm to see all the other kids and beg them to eat a snack quick to come out and play with us. Many of them were 6-8yrs old. I guess more guilty parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe the Post published a column about this that only quotes the parents. They are hardly the most reliable narrators at this stage.

Kids roam all the time in MoCo without being picked up by police. I posted earlier about dozens of kids biking and walking up and down my very busy street every day; no parents and no one blinks an eye. These two kids have now repeatedly - at least 3 times - been in situations where random strangers have felt they were at risk.

There is no problem with kids being "free range" in this area; the issue is this family, and while I don't quite understand it, it doesn't sound to me that CPS is unwarranted here. Did anyone notice that in the police report, the kids were not found in a park - they were found in a parking garage. Enough with the rants against the police state. It's just not applicable here.

The police report does not say that the kids were found in a parking garage.

And if you are seeing crowds of middle-class kids in middle-class neighborhoods out and about on their own, with no parents, and no one blinks and eye, well, where do you live? It sounds like a nice neighborhood that I might want to move to.

Poolesville.

Which street in Poolesville is "very busy"? Also, how many children who go to Poolesville ES and live in walking distance walk to school by themselves?

Very late to follow up, but I'm the PP who said lots of kids in my neighborhood roam without parents, despite busy streets. Some other PP mentioned Poolesville, but my own experience is from North Chevy Chase. I'd guess at least 50+ kids walk to and from NCC Elementary every day despite crazy traffic, very few with parents (it's a school for grades 3 to 6). Kids ride bikes and walk around the neighborhood all the time. Zero interest or concern from police or CPS. I don't know why the Free Range Kids manage to attract so much government intervention, but I don't think their experience is anywhere close to the norm.

Grade 3-6 is one thing. 6 years old is another.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So the kids were lingering by the parking garage for at least 3 minutes (not counting any time before the person called). And you're misrepresenting what I said. I said I'd watch and wait as long as I could hoping an adult would show up. So by your logic that this guy did what I would do, he may have been doing that for quite a while. Again, we simply don't know.

You say they were "lingering by the parking garage". I say they were walking along Fenton Street.

Anyway, so what? Is it suspicious for two children to stand next to a parking garage for three minutes? Or four? Or five?

Actually, that's a silly question, since it's obviously suspicious for two children to be out in public without their parents at all, no matter what they're doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes I was born in 1974 and walked home from the half day K bus stop (2 blocks away) with 2 other K kids everyday at 12:13pm. I guess that is 3 guilty parents right there. After lunch, we all went back outside to play and then walked up to the bus stop at 3pm to see all the other kids and beg them to eat a snack quick to come out and play with us. Many of them were 6-8yrs old. I guess more guilty parents.

I think it really depends. If you're 2 blocks away and someone always has an eye on you, that's one thing. I mean, I can watch my kids walk 2 blocks to the bus stop from my house. But out of sight and no way of knowing if they got there? Nope, not under 8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not making fun at all. Pointing out that we simply don't know his maturity level.

You use grammar as an indicator of maturity? Oh my.

Literally the only information we have about this kid. He certainly doesn't come off as very mature. But of course he must be, because, you know, free range.

I can not believe you are rationalizing this child can not be on his own because of one sentence in an article. Wow! Have your heard how teens talk and text?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes I was born in 1974 and walked home from the half day K bus stop (2 blocks away) with 2 other K kids everyday at 12:13pm. I guess that is 3 guilty parents right there. After lunch, we all went back outside to play and then walked up to the bus stop at 3pm to see all the other kids and beg them to eat a snack quick to come out and play with us. Many of them were 6-8yrs old. I guess more guilty parents.

I think it really depends. If you're 2 blocks away and someone always has an eye on you, that's one thing. I mean, I can watch my kids walk 2 blocks to the bus stop from my house. But out of sight and no way of knowing if they got there? Nope, not under 8.

Our moms were inside doing laundry, watching soaps, getting dinner ready. They never watched us outside. Ever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So the kids were lingering by the parking garage for at least 3 minutes (not counting any time before the person called). And you're misrepresenting what I said. I said I'd watch and wait as long as I could hoping an adult would show up. So by your logic that this guy did what I would do, he may have been doing that for quite a while. Again, we simply don't know.

You say they were "lingering by the parking garage". I say they were walking along Fenton Street.

Anyway, so what? Is it suspicious for two children to stand next to a parking garage for three minutes? Or four? Or five?

Actually, that's a silly question, since it's obviously suspicious for two children to be out in public without their parents at all, no matter what they're doing.

I don't know if it's suspicious. Certainly not that they're doing anything wrong, but that they might not be reasonably safe. If I saw a 6 and 10 year old standing by a parking garage for 5 minutes (and they hadn't left yet) with a homeless guy (remember, the police report said the officer knew the homeless guy, so there's more to that story as well) , then yeah, that might make me worry about those kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can't believe people think it is normal and okay to call 911 for 2 kids walking home. I think that is the most upsetting part in all of this. Our parents would all have been arrested. Or at least all the parents in my neighborhood.

Remember, only for kids under 8. Is your statement still true?

Yes, of course it's still true.

Maybe the observer was concerned because the kids were alone and some homeless guy was eyeing them up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Not making fun at all. Pointing out that we simply don't know his maturity level.

You use grammar as an indicator of maturity? Oh my.

Literally the only information we have about this kid. He certainly doesn't come off as very mature. But of course he must be, because, you know, free range.

I can not believe you are rationalizing this child can not be on his own because of one sentence in an article. Wow! Have your heard how teens talk and text?

Never said he can't be on his own. Said we don't know if he's capable of supervising his 6yo sister. That's all. We don't know. YOu don't either.