How does the "law" define free range kids apart from child neglect from leaving kids?

[EuroBoutique]

How does the "law" define free range kids apart from child neglect from leaving kids?

To be very honest I never even heard of this term till recently "free range kids" after reading a few stories online and this whole movement.

As a parent of 2 toddlers I would never dream of leaving them alone to walk home or do anything without parental supervision. No matter how safe a neighborhood or city is, there is always the bad wolf lurking nearby.

So my question is how does the law determine a parent who is practicing "free-range" from one that is actually abandoning their kid?

here's one article I read recently:

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/..._what_do_you_do_when_you_see_a_kid_alone.html


I'm pretty sure here in CA if I left my kids at a park and let them fend for themselves to get their butt home, I'd be arrested very shortly after for being a lousy parent. How can these "free range" parents avoid being arrested? Or what differentiates what they are doing vs. a mom who left their child at a playground while she was at an interview nearby? I remember in that case the mom was arrested and nearly lost her child. Is there a minimum age for a child?

 

[91 X]

I think under 8 is a little too young to let them walk to a park three blocks away, but this was a 10 year old and his 6 year old sister??? To me, I wouldn't feel comfortable about that, but I remember when I was like 10 years old riding my bike every where, miles away from home , so it's hypocritical ... I guess a lot depends on where you live.

I think calling the cops and the way they handled this was over the top IMO.

 

[B2FiNiTY]

When I was a kid in the 80s, my parents were busy working so I'd have to fend for myself most of the time. Never ran into an issue walking home from school, going to the local del taco or subway for some food after school etc. or even being "bad" and going to the train tracks.

Times have probably changed though. I feel like I'd be more protective of my kids compared to how my parents were of me.

 

[jond]

It sounds miserable being locked inside a house 24x7 out of fear.
Me and my friends were never inside of a house when it was daylight.
And there were no cell phones, so parents had no idea where we were.
We would play in creeks/reservoirs, built things in the woods, explore different areas and just have small mayhem, mini adventures with no adults to back us up.
All the things boys need to do to learn. Times(or perception) have changed.
I feel bad for kids today.

 

[Oyagi]

It sounds miserable being locked inside a house 24x7 out of fear.
Me and my friends were never inside of a house when it was daylight.
And there were no cell phones, so parents had no idea where we were.
We would play in creeks/reservoirs, built things in the woods, explore different areas and just have small mayhem, mini adventures with no adults to back us up.
All the things boys need to do to learn. Times(or perception) have changed.
I feel bad for kids today.

This.

I was a latch key kid, raised by immigrant parents who both had to work long hours. I was given a key to the apartment, hung on a red string around my neck. Since 6 I walked home alone from 1st grade class (about a mile away), helped myself inside, ate the food left for me in the fridge and watched Sesame Street until my older siblings got home an hour later. This was in the early 70's. Times have changed.

 

[Aluminsx]

It's funny because I watched "ET" a little while ago and there is a scene where Eliot is left home sick and the mom has to go to work. I'm not sure how old the character "Eliot" is but he was pretty young. If that movie was made today the mom would have to scramble around to try and find daycare for her kid. Different times. I have a ten, eight, and two year old. My ten and eight boys pretty much run around our neighborhood but it's very safe.


Just Googled it and Eliot was ten. So there you go....

 

[Bear]

I like the old days. Kids roamed free and if they messed up you could chew them out even if they weren't yours. Today people are shut-ins.

 

[Brylek]

It sounds miserable being locked inside a house 24x7 out of fear.
Me and my friends were never inside of a house when it was daylight.
And there were no cell phones, so parents had no idea where we were.
We would play in creeks/reservoirs, built things in the woods, explore different areas and just have small mayhem, mini adventures with no adults to back us up.
All the things boys need to do to learn. Times(or perception) have changed.
I feel bad for kids today.

+1. I was walking to school when I was 7 and it was a 25 minute walk, me and my brother would go building stuff in the woods, fishing and doing other things like that when we were 8-10.

 

[EuroBoutique]

We actually lived a very sheltered or as my parents put us in a "protective" shell most of our childhood. Whether this is good or bad, it is what it is. I can think of many instances of me being reckless after I got my driver's license and freedom where my parents were not around but of course this is the teen years. In our childhood we rarely walk to school (even though it was 1 block to elementary school since my mom had a rule of not crossing the stop sign). She would always drop us off for middle school and HS until I was able to drive.

We lived in the suburbs of Chicago in a pretty safe neighborhood. My mom and I were debating this the other day and she thought IL was a safe state but then I reminded her about the serial killer John Wayne Gacy in the mid 70's from Chicago.

I think we can all agree "back then" it was safer however my post and question was not about how we were raised back then and how much freedom we had. It's pretty much known society is not the same anymore. Back then I remember the Vietnam war but school shootings was UNHEARD of. I just don't understand how some parents can be cited for reckless endangerment of their kids if they leave them in a car or playground while other parents cite "Free-range parenting" movement and it seems they don't get in trouble. What is the difference in the two categories????

 

[docjohn]

I think the internet and media have drawn more attention to pedophiles,and kidnappers....they have always been around.

 

[Aluminsx]

I think the internet and media have drawn more attention to pedophiles,and kidnappers....they have always been around.

This is so true.

 

[jond]

I think the internet and media have drawn more attention to pedophiles,and kidnappers....they have always been around.

That's what I question too.
Have times changes or just our perception.
CNN/fox/NBC/etc makes their money by selling fear.
We didn't have 24x7 news when I grew up.
News was on for 1 hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm and that's it.
Now the news agencies have to create news to fill 24 hours instead of 1 hour.
And the news has to be entertaining/scary/interesting enough for you to watch for hours a day.

 

[Bear]

as a 14 year old my parents didn't blink when I took a 1.5 hr bus ride from NJ to NY, walked from Port Authority to 5th avenue past the porno palaces and bums without fear. It's great that someone coined the term helicopter parents. Hopefully it will take hold and more people will follow suit.

 

[Lud]

That's what I question too.
Have times changes or just our perception.
CNN/fox/NBC/etc makes their money by selling fear.
We didn't have 24x7 news when I grew up.
News was on for 1 hour from 5:30pm to 6:30pm and that's it.
Now the news agencies have to create news to fill 24 hours instead of 1 hour.
And the news has to be entertaining/scary/interesting enough for you to watch for hours a day.

Times have indeed changed! The country is now much safer for kids than it was in the last few decades.

Yet most people's perception seems to be that things are more dangerous for kids now, with predators lurking in every shadow.

I suspect the comments about the changes in the news media as a cause are spot on.

 

[Spa2KJT]

as a 14 year old my parents didn't blink when I took a 1.5 hr bus ride from NJ to NY, walked from Port Authority to 5th avenue past the porno palaces and bums without fear. It's great that someone coined the term helicopter parents. Hopefully it will take hold and more people will follow suit.

^This. I too grew up in Brooklyn, NY primarily raised by my grandmother and rode NYC Transit everywhere at a young age. Nowadays as a parent, I couldn't fathom sending my 11 year old alone in the streets of NY alone. I recently read an excellent article that talks about this. It's a good read.

http://m.nydailynews.com/new-york/n...changed-parenting-childhood-article-1.2187287

 

[Bear]

My kids already 12 and 15 have missed the rich experience of growing up in a place like Brooklyn. Scottsdale's a bubble, very safe, and yet everyone's gripped with child-predator fears. It's morphed into other fears like getting hit by a car, or encountering bullies. I'm all for putting my kids out there but the wife is mortified : (

We still swim in shark infested oceans, let's hope this turns around someday.

 

[flaminio]

I think we can all agree "back then" it was safer however my post and question was not about how we were raised back then and how much freedom we had. It's pretty much known society is not the same anymore.

I don't think we can "all agree" with this -- certainly Lud's chart shows differently.

What most parents really fear is "stranger danger". You know what? Stranger Danger is bullshit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfVm3ziZTZk

I used to work with a woman who was literally frantic about stranger danger. We were close to 101 in the Bay Area, and could see one of those electronic billboards. Every time an Amber Alert showed up, she'd point it out as justification for her paranoia. But if you dig deeper into the Alert, you find it's not really a danger at all. Most Amber Alerts are parents who lost custody, busybody relatives who think they're rescuing a child from an abusive parent (and perhaps they are), and runaways. These are all serious issues, and it's important for the children to be returned safely, but the bottom line is that these incidents are of no danger whatsoever to my children.

Look up what kills children the most: cars. Statistically, the least safe place for a child is in a car. And yet I know many parents who insist on driving their children to school because they think walking or riding their bike would be dangerous. These parents are irrationally putting their child in more danger than they would be otherwise. Number 2 for deaths is drowning. Do your kids know how to swim? If not, you are intentionally endangering your children far more than walking home from a park would.

My kids have been free-range since the second grade. You know what I tell them about strangers? A stranger is just a friend you haven't yet met.

 

[Kyras]

Times have indeed changed! The country is now much safer for kids than it was in the last few decades.

Yet most people's perception seems to be that things are more dangerous for kids now, with predators lurking in every shadow.

I suspect the comments about the changes in the news media as a cause are spot on.

That graph is "Number of victims per 1,000 population aged 12 or older. I wonder if aged 11 or under follows the same decline.

 

[DocL]

Now that I'm a father I definitely am concerned about allowing my kids to become independent. I want them to be safe all the time and the only way to do is to teach them to be aware of their environment. Unfortunately down here in Florida, most nice neighborhoods are in gated communities so they are already growing up in an overly protective environment. I try to take them to as many public places as I can so they can learn some street smarts. There are parents here that don't even let their kids walk three houses down to the bus stop. They drive them there and wait in the car and then walk them onto the bus. I certainly will not be that protective.

On another note though; do free range children taste better than cage grown children when cooked with garlic?

 

[Bear]

Good point made by Flaminio.. statistically swimming pools are 50 times more dangerous than having a gun in the house. I put a tension fence around my pool when the kids were kiddies, the adults had trouble breaching it.

 

[NSXgal]

On another note though; do free range children taste better than cage grown children when cooked with garlic?

Now THAT is funny!

When my sister (who is two years older than me) and I were elementary school students, both my parents worked and we typically would arrive home shortly before them. They had a key hidden in the garage for us to get into the house after we had walked home from school, which was about 20 minutes. After my parents arrived, we would be outside playing in the front yard with the other neighbor kids, or getting on our bicycles to ride blocks away from home. The area I grew up in was safe. My parents taught us to have respect for other people, and let us do/go pretty much anywhere within reason. When my sister turned twelve or thirteen, we babysat together for kids in our neighborhood. Earned a little money, the other parents loved us and for the most part, my parents were typically home when we were babysitting if assistance was needed.
Kids today are so sheltered, and don't seem to be learning responsibility. I feel bad for them. Want to be safe? Never get out of bed in the morning. There's no guarantee that even doing that will keep you safe. Just my $0.02 worth.

 

[LoveNSXs]

this thread brought back a lot of memories for me of my childhood! Don't know if this matters, but 1st Generation Taiwanese kid here. through most of elementary school, I rode my bike or walked to school unless it was too cold/rainy (it had to be pretty extreme). it was just through my neighborhood, maybe ~1.5 miles away. My little sister and I were often left at home alone for long periods of time while my parents were out and about (work, conducting business, grocery shopping, etc) I guess most of the home alone-ness was after 9 years of age, since I did have a much older sister looking after us until she left for school