Posted on 01/15/2015 5:02:57 AM PST by ConservativeInPA
It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently.
Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children.
We wouldnt have let them do it if we didnt think they were ready for it, Danielle said.
She said her son and daughter have previously paired up for walks around the block, to a nearby 7-Eleven and to a library about three-quarters of a mile away. They have proven they are responsible, she said. Theyve developed these skills.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Years ago prior to my service in WWII I had various afterschool and even prior to school jobs in Phoenix AZ. One particular off school job was with a local linen supply company. I would sweep out the working areas and the offices and then wait, doing school work, for deliverers to come in with daily receipts. There were several deliverers and each would tally their receipts including cash before stashing such in a huge safe. I was left alone with the open safe until the last driver had checked in. I would then lock the office and safe and walk about 2 miles (my recollection) to home. During the couple of years I did this I was never in fear of my life or welfare. After my service in WWII I went back to Phoenix and no longer felt comfortable walking around as I did before wartime service. Times had changed life.
From the time I was in Kindergarten in the mid 70’s on in Los Angeles, I was on my own. I would wander with friends but mostly alone. The older I got, the further I would go, and the older I got the later could stay. When I was small, I explored the parks, and construction sites, universities, and surprisingly natural places like small creeks, I loved exploring the drainage tunnels, and catching frogs and crawfish. As I got older before I was old enough to drive, I would ride my bike all the way to the beach and body surf all day. Once I bought my first car, however...weekly trips to ensenada, glamis, mammoth, climbed Mt Whitney, I even went to san fran, and even Seattle and vancouver once....and this was while I was in high school. I am so glad there was no such thing as helicopter parents when I was small
I walked alone to a Saturday music lesson through the woods from 1956-60 in the Silver Spring area, when I was a small girl. Not anymore. Now, it's Sanctuaryville, you have to order in Spanish at the McDonald's drive-thru, and the traffic is hideously slow because of the illegals.
There's a lot of truth to the old saying, "a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged." I know my several muggings/home invasions in adulthood changed my point of view from fiscal conservative to fiscal/social conservative.
I dont blame my parents for being protective after that incident - Im pretty sure that was a normal response.... there is a risk/reward choice all parents have to make about this, which is dynamic and based on several factors.
Even though my brother and I were allowed to roam around freely in the neighborhood, the woods and park and creek and up to the shopping center, when my brother applied for an errand-boy job at a small shop run by one man, my father went with him to the interview. Guess ol' Dad knew about perverts preying on children even then.
Hit the nail on the head. Someone was always watching. Another kid could run and summon help.
When it snowed in our hilly neighborhood, easily 25 kids came out for snowman making, snowball fights and to sled down the streets (and trudge back up).
Feminism gone wild: fatherless girls always go for the thrills and the bad boys, and spurn the nice guys who could provide a steady life. Writ large...
You're entitled to your opinion. They are are entitled to their's. No?
You haven't been to Silver Spring lately, have you?
Me, too.
We are soft because we allow our government to control us.
Your tax dollars at work.
You haven't been to Silver Spring lately, have you?
Not in 4 years or so. Parents had the right to raise their children as they saw fit back then. Has something changed?
Darling, that was the nice part of town. There are other parts. Many "other" parts.
Thanks for the ping!
Last week I drove through Silver Spring for the first time in years. I couldn’t believe the place was seemingly overrun by illegal aliens.
Thank you for your service, noinfringers2!
3 years ago we were at the Palazzo in Vegas. Part of Venetian
Huge place
We let our 8 and 10 years old boys have free time on the floor
They had phone so we could check in and vice versa
About an hour later house detectives stopped them and called us and asked if it was ok
We said yes
They said they would highlight them on security camera labyrinth and warned them about fire alarms etc
Pretty cool place
My boys have great southern manners and don’t skirt tug
I walked to school over a mile through woods at 7
People aren’t worse....more media
Most of Maryland has become a Sanctuary for illegals. When they first came here in droves, they looked for work and drove very slowly so as not to be deported. Lately, let’s say since Obama took office, they have become “entitled” and can’t be traced if they do a crime, because they are undocumented. This fact is not lost on them.
Since the parents are married and the children are pass the toddler stage the chances of them disappearing is statistical a fraction of a percent.
Much more likely that they will be hurt or killed riding their bikes, which is less likely then their being hurt or killed riding in the family car.
Sure have, and hang out in Arlington about five miles from the Pentagon, high end and very “safe.”
I’m not letting a six year old walk for a mile through Clarendon with ten year old by themselves either.
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