Posted on 06/09/2015 5:03:05 PM PDT by Kaslin
There was a time not too long ago that parents could let their kids walk to school alone, take a solo bike ride around the neighborhood, and, once reasonably old enough, stay home alone. Those days are gone, and gone with a vengeance. This type of parenting, which was once considered the norm, is now getting kids taken away from their guardians, and parents locked up and treated as negligent criminals.
The latest story comes out of Florida, where an 11-year-old boy, whose parents were delayed in traffic, hung out in his own backyard for an hour and a half waiting for them. I’ll let the mother who wrote to Lenore Skenazy over at her website, Free RangeKids.com, explain what happened next (emphasis from Skenazy):
My children are not free range children. The younger one has always had a baby sitter. The older one who just turned 11 a couple of weeks ago always had a baby sitter as well. This school year that changed. The eleven year old comes home and is met by his dad who lets him in the house. In the event dad isn’t here on time, his instructions are to wait in the backyard until I come home about 20 minutes later.
On this particular day, a little more than a month ago, both dad and I were both running late due bad traffic and rain. We were about and hour and a half late. When we arrived the police had been anonymously called and we were arrested for child neglect.
We still do not have our children, we are fighting for our own freedom and due to the nature of my employment I am no longer employed. My son was in his own yard playing basketball, not in the street or at the park. The authorities claim he had no access to water or shelter. We have an open shed in the back yard and 2 working sinks and 2 hoses. They said he had no food. He ate his snacks already. He had no bathroom, but the responding officer found our yard good enough to relieve himself in while our son sat in a police car alone. In his own yard, in a state, Florida, that has no minimum age for children to be alone. If you have any advice for what I should do I will accept it.
And then for her update:
Our sons were returned to us on Tuesday/Wednesday in the children’s court/DCF with adjudication withheld. However the criminal prosecutor is not dropping the charges as of today. We have to appear in the criminal court on June 11th to put in our plea. I would love to speak to someone however due to my job (which is still on the line) I don’t know if it will make it better or worse. I am a state and county employee with the school system and I was made to sign a paper stating I would not speak with teachers parents or students regarding the matter.
This is disturbing on so many levels. These children were taken away from their parents for a month. Criminal charges were filed against them, the mother may end up losing her job, and on top of all that, she can’t even speak about it.
Similar incidents are happening all over the country, and as Matt Walsh over at The Blaze points out, the problem is just as bad if not worse in public schools, where parental rights are virtually nonexistent.
This is the epitome of the nanny state and the worst part about it is that it’s not even to correct a problem in society—there has never been a safer time to be a child in America.
As Skenazy noted in her story about the article, “If this doesn’t convince lawmakers that they had better start revising the child neglect laws — and convince politicians that supporting Free-Range legislation would be a great, vote-getting platform — I’m not sure what will.”
Maybe you could read the article...
The authorities claim he had no access to water or shelter. We have an open shed in the back yard and 2 working sinks and 2 hoses. They said he had no food. He ate his snacks already. He had no bathroom, but the responding officer found our yard good enough to relieve himself in while our son sat in a police car alone. In his own yard, in a state, Florida, that has no minimum age for children to be alone.
Because molesters always hang out in this kid's backyard playing hoops while waiting for his parents to be late? I'd be more worried about the neighbor who reported them. Was the neighbor so snoopy they had to sneak around to the driveway to make sure the parents weren't there or ring the bell to make sure they hadn't merely been dropped off? Very creepy. If the neighbor was so concerned, they could have asked the kid if he was ok but noooooo. Instead of seeing to the kid's safety, they were more concerned with reporting the parents. The mom needs to put her house on the market asap because the neighbor has shown his colors and will never leave the alone. Ok, fine, give the kid a key. Heck, I didn't need a key because I'd either craw through my bedroom window or use my ID card to get the front door lock open. We'd also ride our bikes all over town from dawn to dusk and no one cared. Mr. B and his friends would go down to the pool hall after school or ride their bikes to the next towns over on weekends. We both walked home from school. I walked home by myself in 3rd grade down a major city street. Florida, that has no minimum age for children to be alone
Well, there's the parents' out. There is no minimum age. The state has to prove the child wasn't able to take care of himself which he already proved he was since he never left the backyard and didn't do anything but play hoops. Geez, the kid is going into middle school if not there already.
Liberal mania ...
Bureaucrat mania. They need to all be put down.
Back then, fewer women worked outside the home, so there were always adults around to look after the kids.
Today, families are scattered. And who knows their neighbors? I don't. Most of mine look so shady, I wouldn't want to know them, and I surely wouldn't trust my kids with them.
I really wish we could go back to the 50s when people knew each other and looked after others’ children ax if they were there own. Sadly, those days are gone. Now all we have our government busy bodies raising our kids for us.
I’m with Lurker. The woman needs to put the job on the line and tell those intending her silence to clean their posterior with that paper. Yell loud. Be sure that boy understands what those official did to him. And the cop relieving himself in the city is criminal. He should not have had his junk out and in his hands under any circumstances. They are mistreating this family because they can get away with it. Hopefully, they find a Judge and pre-sentencing reporter who is understanding what is wrong here.
The neighbor was probably po’d about the sound of the basketball.
That’s true. I had 2 sets of grandparents within a few blocks.
Me too.
Tough situation but hard to get emotional when not even the city name is mentioned.
AND ...
Why not give the kid a key to the house?
If a 17 year old boy pisses in the bushes he gets branded for life as a sex offender. The same thing should happen to this cop. I’d be demanding he be charged and suing him personally.
L
Yep. Latch key kids... Didn’t hear anyone bitching about that because what mom should be penalized by not being able to work and staying home to raise the children?
What about a comet, or earthquake, or a govt. worker wanting to know how many naps, they had recently? Neighbor? Who are you? Why were you not there?
The shelter was available (a shed.) A molester can attack a child anywhere - there is no law, nor there should be one, that a child may venture outside of the bunker only with an armed bodyguard. A 1.5 hour wait is unwelcome, but that's how life works. In my youth I had to wait for someone with a key for three hours. The busybodies in FL wouldn't believe it, but I'm still around. I wasn't even bothered by the wait, because three hours on this side of the door are not much different from three hours on that side of the door. I could go to the library, for example, and sit there for a few hours reading a book. The library was within 15 minutes of walking. I could go to a movie theater which was in 20 minutes of walking. I could go around the neighborhood, meet someone I know, and find something to do together. The possibilities are endless. This current situation is depressing. No surprise that so many people reject parenting - it is a full time job, and you can go to jail if someone decides that you made a mistake.
“Perhaps the busybody neighbor that reported the kid could have offered to have the kid wait with them or wait or their porch or just keep an I on him till the parents got home “
We have only one side of the story.
Me, too - I lived over in Trenton, and my mom was a teacher - she would leave to pick dad up from work at good ol’ Wyandotte Chemicals. So, my two brothers and I were alone for a whole hour!!!! I just don’t understand why there was no key hidden so they could get in the house. But they did have shelter if they needed it. No matter what, heads should roll for taking these children away from their parents. Florida - home of Angele Corey and her evil minions!
From the story;
We have an open shed in the back yard and 2 working sinks and 2 hoses.
My definition of a shed is something with a roof and at least 1 wall so I would say that is your answer there. If he was playing basketball, then the rain was not for the full time covered.
To me there is missing elements in this story but the process of Child Welfare cases previously here in Florida can make me believe that it is possible government abuse.
At that age I was expected to cut veggies and get the roast in the oven so it would be done by dinnertime.
In 1960, at 12 I took my brother, 11, a half-mile to a Roberts bus five miles to Newton Corner to get a Wartertown trolley seven miles into Boston’s subway, transferred at the Park Street Station to get the Lechmere line to Boston Garden to watch the Boston Bruins play Gordie Howe’s Detroit Red Wings.
We got the money from caddying and our newspaper routes.
I averaged a fight a week from 4-14. We all did.
Our veterans fathers were our heroes.
I am not torn on this at all.
An eleven year old can handle a little time in the back yard.
Which is it? County or State?
” I am a state and county employee with the school system and I was made to sign a paper stating I would not speak with teachers parents or students regarding the matter.”
Nevermind that earlier in the article she says she is unemployed.
Why couldn’t they give the child a key to his house? My children always had a key to our house. This is not neglect by any stretch, but I don’t understand why he couldn’t go in the house and wait until his parents got home.
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