Supervision (23)
Boban1: Cops Interrogate Family For Allowing Kids To Play Outside
A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
I grew up in the countryside and used to roam around the fields for hours. My parents knew where I was even if they couldn't see me all the time. Didn't do me any harm, just the opposite.
Sad that it is deemed dangerous to have kids playing outside these days.
The neighbours should mind their own bloody business though or be helpful and keep an eye on the kids instead of calling the police
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My feeling is that you can't take your eyes off your children for a minute. She said she watches them from the kitchen window. I doubt she stands there for every minute the children are in the back yard watching them every minute. Unless the yard has a 10 foot fence and the children are locked inside that fence, they aren't safe without supervision. The problem with a 10 foot fence is for fire reasons by law it has to have a door/gate that isn't locked so....there you go....it's not a safe world for children. Kidnappers know that kids have a cell phone so the first thing they will do is take the phone away. Teaching them the buddy system to never be alone will be helpful is they are kidnapped.
This woman isn't being irresponsible but she is a bit naive to think they are safe even in their own yard.
This woman isn't being irresponsible but she is a bit naive to think they are safe even in their own yard.
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my son used to play unsupervised, all around the neighbourhood, since age 5.
we live on the 11th floor, so he had to yell for me to go down when he wanted to go home, cause he was too light for the elevator :)
sometimes i could see him from my balcony, and if not, if i wanted to check, i'd call his name and he'd go somewhere in the open , wave to me, and it was ok to go on playing.
this is reasonably safe part of the city, so i felt he wasn't in any particular danger, there were bunch of his little friends with him, he wasn;t alone.
but i know that some of his preschool mates who lived downtown didn't have so much freedom
we live on the 11th floor, so he had to yell for me to go down when he wanted to go home, cause he was too light for the elevator :)
sometimes i could see him from my balcony, and if not, if i wanted to check, i'd call his name and he'd go somewhere in the open , wave to me, and it was ok to go on playing.
this is reasonably safe part of the city, so i felt he wasn't in any particular danger, there were bunch of his little friends with him, he wasn;t alone.
but i know that some of his preschool mates who lived downtown didn't have so much freedom
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Children should be supervised but this seems a bit too far .
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Years ago my daughter at 9 wanted to stay home alone. As a single mother I had no idea what the law was about leaving children at home alone, so I called my local police department to find out.
They had another officer call me back when they found answers to my questions.
At what age can you leave your children alone?
There is no law, but if neighbors report you children for being home alone, your home better be in the best order it can be in.
At what age can a child babysit other children?
At age 13, and no, I did not leave my daughter home alone, I found after school programs for her to be involved in.
They had another officer call me back when they found answers to my questions.
At what age can you leave your children alone?
There is no law, but if neighbors report you children for being home alone, your home better be in the best order it can be in.
At what age can a child babysit other children?
At age 13, and no, I did not leave my daughter home alone, I found after school programs for her to be involved in.
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Here's the extreme:
My daughter was born 47 years ago.
We lived in an apartment building on the second floor
When she was a baby I put her in a carriage (an old fashioned carriage) and positioned the carriage in front of the building where I could see her from the window.
I used to do housecleaning, cooking and look out the window once in awhile to see if she was crying.
Kidnapping was never on my mind.....because it was a different world.
And yet today, people leave their children in a car to run into the store for a minute. I've heard so many times how a car is stolen and the guy didn't know there was a baby in the back seat.
To each his own but I would never take my eyes off a child if I was responsible for them. I also wouldn't call the police on a neighbor but I would suggest to them it might not be a good idea to leave their children alone. She would tell me to mind my own business and I would but at least my conscience would be clear.
My daughter was born 47 years ago.
We lived in an apartment building on the second floor
When she was a baby I put her in a carriage (an old fashioned carriage) and positioned the carriage in front of the building where I could see her from the window.
I used to do housecleaning, cooking and look out the window once in awhile to see if she was crying.
Kidnapping was never on my mind.....because it was a different world.
And yet today, people leave their children in a car to run into the store for a minute. I've heard so many times how a car is stolen and the guy didn't know there was a baby in the back seat.
To each his own but I would never take my eyes off a child if I was responsible for them. I also wouldn't call the police on a neighbor but I would suggest to them it might not be a good idea to leave their children alone. She would tell me to mind my own business and I would but at least my conscience would be clear.
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Boban1: Cops Interrogate Family For Allowing Kids To Play Outside
A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
It's all completely crazy these days. My sister was reported by her neighbors to Gardai, that is the name for police here, for leaving children at home at the day time. They are 10 and 8 years old and she was out for a short time only. They are not babies and have some brain at that age! And of course, they are warned not to let anyone strange in. On the other hand, unsupervised youngsters at the late hours are a common sight. That is what the police should look at rather than harassing stressed out parents. There was a horrific murder of 12 years old girl a while ago. She came home around midnight and then wanted to go again out, which her parents let her do. She never came back!
And again, I have read some stories where mothers have left their children at home to die. The neighbors, police and social workers knew that something was wrong, but did not dare to break in and save the children because they were afraid they would be charged for unauthorized break in. Crazy and twisted world indeed!
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Here in Florida, the law says children are allowed to be unsupervised after the age of 12 (I know I was babysitting in my neighborhood for other people's children when I was 11).
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
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WhatUwish4: Here in Florida, the law says children are allowed to be unsupervised after the age of 12 (I know I was babysitting in my neighborhood for other people's children when I was 11).
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
The times are probably not more dangerous, but the attitudes have changed. People are more individualist and uninvolved in each others lives. The governments seem to be discouraging the community life, instead taking over surveillance and regulation functions, which they actually don't manage well. Anyone trying to get involved may ran into trouble, so why would you care what is happening with others when it may end in legal prosecution for you?
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joyaepace: The times are probably not more dangerous, but the attitudes have changed. People are more individualist and uninvolved in each others lives. The governments seem to be discouraging the community life, instead taking over surveillance and regulation functions, which they actually don't manage well. Anyone trying to get involved may ran into trouble, so why would you care what is happening with others when it may end in legal prosecution for you?
I was with you until the last sentence. I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
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What a sad place the world has become when children can no longer run free and play. How can they ever appreciate nature if they never experience it?
I remember taking off for the fields and running and playing all day. We would go home for dinner, and back out until the streetlights came on. If we hung around indoors in the summer, our parents would shoo us back outside.
I realize that may not be practical anymore, however there needs to be a sensible compromise. The glory in the freedom of childhood is what shapes us. There has to be a middle ground. We need to find it.
I remember taking off for the fields and running and playing all day. We would go home for dinner, and back out until the streetlights came on. If we hung around indoors in the summer, our parents would shoo us back outside.
I realize that may not be practical anymore, however there needs to be a sensible compromise. The glory in the freedom of childhood is what shapes us. There has to be a middle ground. We need to find it.
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joyaepace: Yes, but also say, an adult sees one kid harassing or beating the other and he or she gets involved to tell off that harasser. They can now be sued by the parent! Or referring to the cases where the child is left alone in the house by the parent gone off partying. Say, social worker and police officer don't want to get involved in the 'crime' of breaking in the house. Somebody who thinks that the risk is worth the child's life may be sued for intrusion in the end. I mean that kind of thing. These cases where children died alone are particularly terrifying. One happened in Latvia where a teenage mother left a child at home for several days and the other in UK where the dead child was lying in its cot under the pile of rubbish for 8 months before being discovered? The mother was a druggy and people in this and the other case were suspicious that the child is not OK, but were afraid to get involved.
Individualism gone mad, that's what it is. We should be able to take more of an interest in each other without it being construed as either seeded, perverse or violating another individual's rights.
I was walking by the other day and some kids around 10/11 had kicked the ball up the tree and couldn't get it down, one of them even hurt himself trying, plenty of adults walking past watching so I just climbed the tree and got them the ball. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just do that straight away. Seems such a little thing, but it's sad really.
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Rumple4skin: Individualism gone mad, that's what it is. We should be able to take more of an interest in each other without it being construed as either seeded, perverse or violating another individual's rights.
I was walking by the other day and some kids around 10/11 had kicked the ball up the tree and couldn't get it down, one of them even hurt himself trying, plenty of adults walking past watching so I just climbed the tree and got them the ball. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just do that straight away. Seems such a little thing, but it's sad really.
I was walking by the other day and some kids around 10/11 had kicked the ball up the tree and couldn't get it down, one of them even hurt himself trying, plenty of adults walking past watching so I just climbed the tree and got them the ball. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just do that straight away. Seems such a little thing, but it's sad really.
Individualism and fear I would say. We are so much afraid of saying or doing something not according to the rules, written or unwritten. What is even worse, we often don't notice how we are thinking and speaking - all saying the same thing, like reading from the book!
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We were taught.... Do not to speak to strangers , as I was growing up and I ventured near and far. But times have changed, you have to know your kids are within eye / calling distance.
Today's parents have the right to be paranoid ...Times have changed... also agree with KNenagh, the community would keep an eye out for the neighbour hood kids and could / would know who were strangers. I think that is what is lost these days.
Today's parents have the right to be paranoid ...Times have changed... also agree with KNenagh, the community would keep an eye out for the neighbour hood kids and could / would know who were strangers. I think that is what is lost these days.
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When I think about the freedom we were permitted growing up.....I feel so sorry for the children nowadays. We were allowed out unsupervised for most of the day, as long as we returned before dark.
Where you live of course, gives a different aspect to the question. I lived in a small town in the countryside, BUT, I must say, that even then,there were strange characters around. Cities give even more of a problem............I wouldn´t let my child wander loose in that environment at all.
Vigilance of children has become a very main issue in modern life. I, thankfullly, still live in an area where it is compartively safe to allow children to walk the street unsupervised.
Where you live of course, gives a different aspect to the question. I lived in a small town in the countryside, BUT, I must say, that even then,there were strange characters around. Cities give even more of a problem............I wouldn´t let my child wander loose in that environment at all.
Vigilance of children has become a very main issue in modern life. I, thankfullly, still live in an area where it is compartively safe to allow children to walk the street unsupervised.
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WhatUwish4: Here in Florida, the law says children are allowed to be unsupervised after the age of 12 (I know I was babysitting in my neighborhood for other people's children when I was 11).
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
Granted, times are more dangerous now, but you HAVE to start giving kids little bits of freedom in limited doses in order to prepare them for adulthood. The post says that there were two teens and one pre-teen among the four kids listed. Seems like letting them play outside with conditions (calling in every 30 minutes), and within earshot of the house is more than reasonable.
JMHO
exactly what I was thinking- one or two of the older ones are qualified babysitters. The neighbors and police were harrassing her - the parents should file a complaint and get an attorney to compile it
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Rumple4skin: Individualism gone mad, that's what it is. We should be able to take more of an interest in each other without it being construed as either seeded, perverse or violating another individual's rights.
I was walking by the other day and some kids around 10/11 had kicked the ball up the tree and couldn't get it down, one of them even hurt himself trying, plenty of adults walking past watching so I just climbed the tree and got them the ball. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just do that straight away. Seems such a little thing, but it's sad really.
I was walking by the other day and some kids around 10/11 had kicked the ball up the tree and couldn't get it down, one of them even hurt himself trying, plenty of adults walking past watching so I just climbed the tree and got them the ball. I don't know why anyone wouldn't just do that straight away. Seems such a little thing, but it's sad really.
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My child is a teenager and is fairly dependent on us. She would be extremely unlikely to wander far, as we live in the country, a fair distance from town. When she wants to go to town (movie, or whatever), she insists that either my sister or I go with her. She's not out of our sight. We also have a fenced back yard. Also, there arre 5 p*dophile within a half mile of us, but they keep pretty much to themselves.
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Boban1: Cops Interrogate Family For Allowing Kids To Play Outside
A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
The pendulum has swung around the other way. We are living in a day and age where a house can be broken into and robbed in 4 minutes. Children are grabbed and taken in less than 30 seconds. I agree that it would seem over the top (to most people) to question families about their kids playing outside. Look at a police officers' point of view. How many times has he/she heard, "But they were right by me. I just glanced at my watch for a second,", or "One second they were laughing and playing, when I looked again they were gone". We are not living in the same world we grew up in, Boban. It's a shame. What is there to do? I don't like it either, but I certainly see everyone's side.A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”
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A family has been harassed by social services and police for the egregious crime of allowing their children to play outside
Lenore Skenazy, editor of the Free Range Kids website, was contacted by a mother in Virginia who related her story of how she was interrogated by police four times and visited by social services twice after her children were spotted playing outside unsupervised.
The mother said that despite the fact she is careful about allowing her kids to stay over at other people’s houses because of a related childhood trauma of her own, she is being harassed by authorities because she is “one of only two families that allows my children to play outside at all in our neighborhood (which is very safe).”
“Just today, I allowed all four of my children (they were all together) to go play in the field adjacent to my house. I could literally see them outside my kitchen window.
My 10 year old ran home to tell my husband and I that a cop had stopped and was interrogating my oldest daughter,” the mother writes.
“No, this was not after dark, it was at 4pm on a Saturday. So my husband walked out to see what was going on, and the police officer even wrote up a report, stating that the children were left outside unsupervised.”
Although she makes her children carry cellphones and check in every 30 minutes, the mother was told by her neighbors that “it just isn’t safe anymore to allow your kids to play outside.”
When the mother asked the police officer if the children, two teens, a pre-teen and a 5-year-old, were causing trouble, the officer responded, “No they were very respectful kids, I just wanted to make sure they were okay because it was odd seeing them outside unsupervised.”