Free Republic

A bipartisan bill introduced in Congress yesterday pushes states to "promote childhood independence" rather than investigate or punish the parents who permit it. The bill lists seven examples of decent parents investigated for letting their kids play outside, bike, walk to the store, etc. Five of these stories were first reported in Reason. Reps. Blake Moore (R–Utah), Janet McClellan (D–Va.), and Virginia Foxx (R–N.C.) are cosponsoring the "Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act." "I want my kids to go exploring without it being just every minute planned for them," says Moore, a father of four. No parent, he adds, should...

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...