Posted on 04/14/2015 11:22:57 AM PDT by drewh
Two suburban Washington, D.C., parents are under scrutiny again for letting their 6- and 10-year-old children play in a park and walk home alone in a case that has stirred debate about "free-range" parenting and government powers.
For the second time in four months, police picked up the children of Danielle and Alexander Meitiv on Sunday as they were walking home alone from a park that's nearly a mile from their house. This time, instead of bringing the children home, police took them directly to Child Protective Services.
"It's beyond ridiculous," Danielle Meitiv said Monday. "The world is safer today, and yet we imprison our children inside and wonder why they're obese and have no focus."
The Meitivs, who live 6 miles from Washington in Silver Spring, Maryland, believe in "free-range" parenting, which includes allowing their children to play and walk alone in the neighborhood to teach them self-reliance and responsibility.
Danielle Meitiv said she and her husband began worrying when the kids weren't home by 6:30, but that Child Protective Services didn't call them until 8 p.m. to say the children were in their custody.
Police had picked them up on the walk home after another concerned citizen called.
The Meitivs were able to take their children home around 10:30 p.m.
"This morning my daughter wanted to go play in the yard and I couldn't let her out because I was making breakfast," Danielle Meitiv said. "Are they prisoners? She's 6 and she's not allowed to play in the yard?"
The case has drawn international media coverage, and Danielle Meitiv said the couple has heard from people all over the world. The majority have been supportive, Meitiv said, but some have expressed outrage at the couple's parenting style.
(Excerpt) Read more at mercurynews.com ...
My parents would have faced a firing squad.
Indeed. In the summer when I was no more then 11 my parents left for work at 7am and got hime at 5pm. My grandmother leved next dor butI rarely saw her. We lived in the country and I ran around outside all day and often late into the night. I hated being indoors.
We have become a nation of wusses. Allowed the Govenment to become our nanny..
How will they ever grow up? Or are they supposed to presume that they will always be watched...
You missed the point, while yes I went off on the cops who made the decision on site, i included all the idiots in the takes a village mindset, and thank you very much I have an opinion on the police and their actions or inactions on a case by case situation. SARC that.
That’s right! No train rides for kids!
The only place my parents would not let me roam freely was when we were in Venezuela. We were close to the Colombian border and kidnapped was a sport in the area. They would kidnap some poor street vendor and ransom him for the equivalent of $10USD.
Other then that I roamed freely, North America, South America, Africa and Japan. I did get picked up by the cops twice for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and I got tear gassed a few times but that was when I was in my late teens.
Go find someone else to play with, I don’t need you to judge me, I leave that to the Lord. Unlike you appear, I don’t support everything the police do , nor do I condemn I condemn them. You don’t agree with my opinion? Okeedokee go right ahead and have your own, that’s what America is all about. Adios muchacho!
Play no, debate you and pick out how you singled the police and then stated you don’t care who called the cops and then stated you insinuated you did call out everyone by saying village.
Your initial post was not thought out and fair enough we all make those mistakes but we don’t sarc that or try and back track.
“We have become a nation of wusses. Allowed the Govenment to become our nanny..”
Just what the left wanted.
Silver Spring is a leafy NW suburb of DC. One of the richest zip codes in America.
No, I agree that six is too young
You know you’re a wild child when your parents tell you even the gypsies wouldn’t want you.
I can’t imagine growing up a kid with overprotective parents like they have today.
Right now, I have a six and ten year old alone in the library (I am in a another section).
Earlier today, the ten year old saddled her horse and rode out to move a few head to another pasture. Yesterday her horse fell, but she deals with it alright and loves it.
“did the kids have cell phones so the parents can keep in contact, was it cold, are there child molesters in the area, gangs, druggies?”
LOL,, God forbid a child not be in continuous contact with the parents. That’s the best way to raise them! Never let em have a moments freedom./
Molesters, gangs, and druggies OH MY! Molesters, gangs, and druggies OH MY!
The world isn’t nearly as dangerous as you act.
I lived in Sweden for a couple of years. It was common to let your kids go everywhere alone. In fact, you bought them their own unlimited subway cards and let them navigate the trains and buses to get to and from school, playmates houses, etc.
I have to admit, as an American, being a bit alarmed at first. After about 6 months, my daughter (12) was taking the train (with two transfers) to her ballet classes sometimes, alone. I routinely sent my kids down the block to the store for eggs and milk alone. In other words, when in Rome, you start doing as the Romans.
We are creating fearful drones for the state to, easily, control. You can't walk in the park alone when you are 10 but at 18 you are free to join the military and be cannon fodder for the elites.
Who are we and what have we become?
I think we just have to wait for more facts to come out because one thing being a conservative is that you can never trust the media as they will run a story on how they want it to be shown.
Remember when we grew up and you could leave your kids knowing that the neighborhood kids looked after their area and if there was bigger trouble the dads would take care of it.
Today all that has gone and now sadly criminals and child molesters have more rights than you and I.
Off topic but we had areas where we all came form the same background we had something in common, we spoke the same language.
Today you can live in a street where your neighbor can’t speak English who is from Asia, the other next door neighbor speaks a little English from Brazil. over the road they are muslims who won’t speak to you as they think your kids are a bad influence. Down the road there are the homosexuals who like to walk their dog and kiss in the street every evening. Then there is the child molester who moved in and sits on the front yard every day as the school bus goes by.
Then there is you, not you per se who looks out, sits down and thinks WTH remember when we were raised in a great community where we all came together and could speak to each other and ask for sugar or watch my house.
Sorry for the off topic rant LOL.
I usually agree with every word you post but on this I have to ask do you have kids at school age right now?
The country is different today.
The world isn’t any more dangerous than it was 50 years ago, its just that stories of drugs, paedophiles and murderers sell newspapers and increase the perception of crime. The Moors murders happened when my Mum was growing up near Oldham, and my Grandma and Grandad just reinforced the idea not to get into cars with strangers etc and then left her and my Aunt to get on with it.
Maybe the cops should pull up, say hi to the kids, and ask if they are ok. Ask if their mom said it was ok for them to be there. If they say yes,,, drive away and make the neighborhood safe. Tell them to have fun.
It isn’t complicated. The sick in the head thing is that a parent should be in continual observation of a 6 and 10 year old. That’s guaranteed lunacy creating. Why not just go for the hat trick and remove the doors from their rooms and sell their bicycles too?
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