Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Do you think that a six-year-old and a ten-year-old are inherently incapable of crossing a major road by themselves, or do you think it depends on the specific six-year-old and ten-year-old and the specific major road?

I think it depends on the specifics. And I think some of the intersections at issue are notoriously horrible.

I think it depends on the specifics, too. And I think that the people best qualified to evaluate the specifics are the specific children's parents.

You don't seem to have much experience with how some "specific children's parents" treat their children. In the public schools, we hear a lot of sadness, neglect, and abuse.

We are not talking about sadness, neglect, and abuse here, though. We are talking about evaluating whether your child is able to cross a street safely by themselves.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think these parents, and their self-righteous melodramatic facebook page, are pathetic.

They are using their children as pawns. No child should have to spend a day in custody because their parents are trying to make a statement.

No public resources should be spend dealing w/ this ridiculousness when there are kids genuinely in danger. (And I'm totally on CPS and the Police's side in this - they are legally bound to respond - they cannot leave children alone if they are made aware.)

These parents are harming their children. I place all the blame on them.

It seems as if they're enjoying all the attention (negative and otherwise) and seeking it, to their children's detriment. I really can't imagine anyone thinking that a 6 year old is just fine in a big city, even with a ten year old sibling.

Here's an example of one of those dangerous big-city places the children were walking to:

http://www.montgomeryparks.org/parks_facilities_directory/bullislp.shtm

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Yes, lots of major roads and intersections (although I don't know the exact route the kids would have had to take from their house).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Do you think that a six-year-old and a ten-year-old are inherently incapable of crossing a major road by themselves, or do you think it depends on the specific six-year-old and ten-year-old and the specific major road?

Studies suggest this is not until about 8 years old to be reliable.

Anonymous wrote:

Yep - not to mention that the Downtown Silver Spring outdoor mall area, with was just 2-3 blocks away from the park these kids were picked up in, has been the site of epic gang battles in the recent past -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/concerns-about-silver-spring-spur-consideration-of-curfew/2011/07/26/gIQAXiYobI_story.html. I think a lot of the people supporting these parents don't quite have a sense of the geography and situation here. We're not talking about some quiet suburban neighborhood filled with kids and SAHMs. It's a major, traffic-filled urban center full of strangers.

And I say this as one who also had one of those 70s/80s free range childhoods and benefitted from it, and am sad that my kid won't get the same thing. But hanging out in a park in the late afternoon as a 6 and 10 year old in Downtown Silver Spring is a FAR cry from my free range childhood, which took place in practically car-free cul de sac with dozens of kids out at any one time, and neighborhood parents who knew all of us.

Epic gang battles on a lovely weekend afternoon? Really?

I'm also impressed by the assumption that Downtown Silver Spring is practically Manhattan. Not to mention that kids actually do routinely walk around the real actual Manhattan without getting taken into custody by CPS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's weird to me is that the police/CPS didn't call the parents for a couple of hours. I'm sure the 10 year old knows the parents phone number (and I would think the 6 year old does as well). Why didn't the police or CPS immediately call the parents and say "We're taking the children into custody. Please come down to X for an investigatory interview" or whatever the process was.

I have no personal knowledge of this case- but I a fairly familiar with CPS procedures. Standard CPS procedure would be to immediately attempt to call the parents- including going to the house with the kids. I strongly suspect the parents were not reachable.

+1

Anonymous wrote:I'd be willing to bet it's the parents themselves who call. Their cause - and their 15 minutes of fame - seems to be their highest priority.

We don't live too far from there, and I see kids at parks all the time without parents hovering over them. Go to Candy Cane City or Norwood Park near downtown Bethesda - there are tons of parents w/little kids, but also plenty of bigger kids on their own. I live on a very busy street in Chevy Chase and lots of kids roam about on foot or on bike without parental supervision. Dozens of kids walk back and forth to school every day without parents. Never once seen any concern or pushback or police involvement.

So why do these 2 kids keep attracting so much attention? Either the parents leave them alone for an unreasonable amount of time (all day at the park on their own?) or they are doing something that prompts concern by strangers.

The point is, the police and CPS aren't conspiring to force all parents to be helicopter parents. But somehow there seems to be some repeated concerns about this particular family. Maybe, just maybe it's actually justified?

I completely agree. There is something else going on here. The fact that so many other kids are doing just this and not getting picked up means there is more to the story that we don't know.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Do you think that a six-year-old and a ten-year-old are inherently incapable of crossing a major road by themselves, or do you think it depends on the specific six-year-old and ten-year-old and the specific major road?

I think it depends on the specifics. And I think some of the intersections at issue are notoriously horrible.

I think it depends on the specifics, too. And I think that the people best qualified to evaluate the specifics are the specific children's parents.

You don't seem to have much experience with how some "specific children's parents" treat their children. In the public schools, we hear a lot of sadness, neglect, and abuse.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Do you think that a six-year-old and a ten-year-old are inherently incapable of crossing a major road by themselves, or do you think it depends on the specific six-year-old and ten-year-old and the specific major road?

I think it depends on the specifics. And I think some of the intersections at issue are notoriously horrible.

I think it depends on the specifics, too. And I think that the people best qualified to evaluate the specifics are the specific children's parents.

You think laws should be written for specific families and CPS should apply laws differently depending on what family you belong to?

Anonymous wrote:I don't understand this. Haven't parents learned their lesson the first time? Are they going to risk the welfare of their children just to make a point?

Is CPS going to risk the welfare of the children just to make a point? Evidently so.

Anonymous wrote:Downtown Silver Spring has some very busy streets, and a few pedestrian fatalities in the past few years. Sometimes kids don't pay enough attention or take stupid risks because they don't truly understand they could get hit by a car or whatever. A good number of adults and teens run across Colesville, Georgia, etc. against the light. If you're not paying attention, that serves as a cue that it's your turn to cross too.

Yep - not to mention that the Downtown Silver Spring outdoor mall area, with was just 2-3 blocks away from the park these kids were picked up in, has been the site of epic gang battles in the recent past -- http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/concerns-about-silver-spring-spur-consideration-of-curfew/2011/07/26/gIQAXiYobI_story.html. I think a lot of the people supporting these parents don't quite have a sense of the geography and situation here. We're not talking about some quiet suburban neighborhood filled with kids and SAHMs. It's a major, traffic-filled urban center full of strangers.

And I say this as one who also had one of those 70s/80s free range childhoods and benefitted from it, and am sad that my kid won't get the same thing. But hanging out in a park in the late afternoon as a 6 and 10 year old in Downtown Silver Spring is a FAR cry from my free range childhood, which took place in practically car-free cul de sac with dozens of kids out at any one time, and neighborhood parents who knew all of us.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But I don't think people are as worried about the destination as they are about the journey. Are there any major roads or busy intersections nearby?

Do you think that a six-year-old and a ten-year-old are inherently incapable of crossing a major road by themselves, or do you think it depends on the specific six-year-old and ten-year-old and the specific major road?

I think it depends on the specifics. And I think some of the intersections at issue are notoriously horrible.

I think it depends on the specifics, too. And I think that the people best qualified to evaluate the specifics are the specific children's parents.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I bet next the Helicopter Parents will start passing laws saying you can't be more then 10' away from your kids or the police will take your kids. What a joke.

Why don't these people have a nanny or are they too cheap and pass it off as free range.

I don't know anybody who has a nanny for a six-year-old and a ten-year-old on a Sunday afternoon. Is that a common thing among the people you know?

What are the parents doing?

I'd be willing to bet it's the parents themselves who call. Their cause - and their 15 minutes of fame - seems to be their highest priority.

We don't live too far from there, and I see kids at parks all the time without parents hovering over them. Go to Candy Cane City or Norwood Park near downtown Bethesda - there are tons of parents w/little kids, but also plenty of bigger kids on their own. I live on a very busy street in Chevy Chase and lots of kids roam about on foot or on bike without parental supervision. Dozens of kids walk back and forth to school every day without parents. Never once seen any concern or pushback or police involvement.

So why do these 2 kids keep attracting so much attention? Either the parents leave them alone for an unreasonable amount of time (all day at the park on their own?) or they are doing something that prompts concern by strangers.

The point is, the police and CPS aren't conspiring to force all parents to be helicopter parents. But somehow there seems to be some repeated concerns about this particular family. Maybe, just maybe it's actually justified?

I don't understand this. Haven't parents learned their lesson the first time? Are they going to risk the welfare of their children just to make a point?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's unconscionable that CPS did not notify the parents form 6:00-10:30 at night. Egregious.

Sue them?

Maybe. If I were the parents, I'd certainly be looking into it.