PA - Man leaves kids, 6 and 9 for 45 minutes at park. Gets arrested, CPS involved as well.

[angelatc]

...I had a buddy who's parents still had a gremlin, well into the mid 80's. The floor board were rusted out in the back. I recall my friend getting screamed at by his mom for apparently dragging his foot on the road while the car was operating LOL. The fact that he could have lost his leg was not the point, it was that his shoes were brand new and now ruined. WTF? LOL... How we ever survived - I dont know.

My neighbor's Mom had a big station wagon, and she would drive through the neighborhood picking us all up to take us our for ice cream. She'd come driving up the road, and tell us to go ask our Mom if we could go. Then she'd cram about 30 of us into that car and take us to the next town over for a cone.

I used to ride to my grandparents house (about 45 minutes on the freeway) in the back of my Dad's pick up truck.

And my kids won't ever know what its like to be even as free as I was.

 

[angelatc]

I was about that old when we lived in New Orleans, of all places, and I still went everywhere unattended.
I was eight the first time an alligator got into the canal. The kids' response? Let's throw rocks at it!

Shit like this has me pretty convinced I'm playing with fire, because my 5 year old daughter doesn't own a bike helmet.
I make it a point to put her in the front seat of the car whenever there isn't an airbag, too.

You rock.

I kept my babies' rear facing carseats in the front so I could give them bottles and chat with them while I was driving. Never owned one of those stupid booster seats and also never any bike helmets.

 

[Anti Federalist]

And my kids won't ever know what its like to be even as free as I was.

This.

This hurts more than anything else.

And I make it a point to not comply with as much of this safety Nazi horseshit as possible.

But I can't stop the new, fed funded, surveillance towers that have popped up on most of NH's major highways over the winter.

I can't stop the flood of technology that surrounds and drowns all of us in increasing numbers every day, watching every single move we make.

I can't stop the surveillance satellite that will be in permanent orbit right over my head should Mitt Romney get elected.

I can't stop NSA's new MiniTru being built in Utah that will monitor every single byte of electronic data in the world.

You and me and some of the other 40 plus folks on here, we were the last generation to live on planet earth that was not under total surveillance 24/7.

That could run down a street or bike across town or play in a park, without a thousand cameras watching.

And that fact breaks my fucking heart, even more than the fact that nobody gives a shit.

 

[Kluge]

Pfft. When I was that age, we were riding our bikes to parks and pools, where we stayed for the entire day. He dropped off the kids to play in the park while he shopped and worked out.

There is actually nothing wrong with that.

We had to be home before dark. That was my Dad's law, not the government's law. And the only time we lost a classmate was at the pool, but he was there with his family, and under the watchful eye of the lifeguards.

Because they got you, and you just realized it?

I responded without putting any real though into it. My brother and I walked to school alone when we were younger than those kids.

I'm a big ole dummy sometimes. It just sounded really bad at first--that's how they get ya, and I bought it.

 

[PaulConventionWV]

The law doesn't need to be involved, but that father is definitely at fault. Sometimes people just have to learn the hard way not to leave your kids unattended for such a long time. Most parents can't stand to have their kids out of their sight for more than 5 minutes.

 

[Anti Federalist]

The law doesn't need to be involved, but that father is definitely at fault. Sometimes people just have to learn the hard way not to leave your kids unattended for such a long time. Most parents can't stand to have their kids out of their sight for more than 5 minutes.

At fault of what?

What happened?

What crime did the father commit, that warranted being arrested, probably going to go to jail and have his family torn apart?

 

[Lucille]

This.

This hurts more than anything else.

And I make it a point to not comply with as much of this safety Nazi horseshit as possible.

But I can't stop the new, fed funded, surveillance towers that have popped up on most of NH's major highways over the winter.

I can't stop the flood of technology that surrounds and drowns all of us in increasing numbers every day, watching every single move we make.

I can't stop the surveillance satellite that will be in permanent orbit right over my head should Mitt Romney get elected.

I can't stop NSA's new MiniTru being built in Utah that will monitor every single byte of electronic data in the world.

You and me and some of the other 40 plus folks on here, we were the last generation to live on planet earth that was not under total surveillance 24/7.

That could run down a street or bike across town or play in a park, without a thousand cameras watching.

And that fact breaks my fucking heart, even more than the fact that nobody gives a shit.

A big ole +rep for that. I feel the same despair.

 

[Anti Federalist]

I responded without putting any real though into it. My brother and I walked to school alone when we were younger than those kids.

I'm a big ole dummy sometimes. It just sounded really bad at first--that's how they get ya, and I bought it.

Amazing how the propaganda hooks you isn't it?

It gets me from time to time too.

 

[heavenlyboy34]

This.

This hurts more than anything else.

And I make it a point to not comply with as much of this safety Nazi horseshit as possible.

But I can't stop the new, fed funded, surveillance towers that have popped up on most of NH's major highways over the winter.

I can't stop the flood of technology that surrounds and drowns all of us in increasing numbers every day, watching every single move we make.

I can't stop the surveillance satellite that will be in permanent orbit right over my head should Mitt Romney get elected.

I can't stop NSA's new MiniTru being built in Utah that will monitor every single byte of electronic data in the world.

You and me and some of the other 40 plus folks on here, we were the last generation to live on planet earth that was not under total surveillance 24/7.

That could run down a street or bike across town or play in a park, without a thousand cameras watching.

And that fact breaks my fucking heart, even more than the fact that nobody gives a shit.

+a zillion. This thread gives me teh sad. When I was a kid I biked and played all over the place with no supervision. Just had to tell the folks I'm headed out during long distance trips. I hope my cousins' kids aren't going through this nanny-state shit (they're in the upper-midwest). I imagine this is an incredibly depressing time to be a kid. It seems like the only "officially sanctioned" activities take place indoors.

 

[Brian4Liberty]

Better take these children to CPS and put them in foster homes so that they can learn the true nature of the world. Into the loving arms of Big Mommy, enforced by Big Daddy. These children will learn to fear going to the park alone (and everything else too).

 

[Son of Detroit]

That's the larger point here, and the rise of "helicopter parents".

Training a whole generation to be under constant surveillance.

Lenore at "Free Range Kids" checks in:

This is NOT a Crime! Cops Charge Dad Who Let Kids Play Alone in Park for 2 Hours
Posted on April 11, 2012 by lskenazy

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/...-who-let-kids-play-alone-in-park-for-2-hours/

Readers! As we approach our third annual, “Take Our Children to the Park…And Leave Them There Day” (Saturday, May 19), this story is outrageous. Apparently a dad let his two kids, ages 6 and 9, play in a local suburban Pittsburgh park on Saturday morning for not quite two hours while he did some shopping and took a shower. That is, while he went about the tasks of everyday life.

Meantime, a woman noticed this unusual thing: Kids playing without an adult around! That this fact was “disturbing” to an onlooker is what is so disturbing about our culture. For millennia, kids kept themselves occupied while their parents were otherwise engaged. A 9-year-old watching a 6-year-old was NORMAL, not a REASON TO CALL THE COPS.

But call the cops she did. And when they got there, they charged the dad with two counts of child endangerment. Meantime, of course, child protective services is investigating, too. Because any time you trust your children or your community, YOU cannot be trusted.

That’s what we’ve come to. You are punished for believing in your kids’ self-reliance and the neighborhood you chose to raise them in. Hence, the Free-Range Kids movement. Hence this Free-Range Kids blog. Hence…I wish I knew. We have GOT to turn our country around or children will be prisoners of their parents, and vice versa, all in the name of “caring.” Ask me, that word is missing an “s” at the beginning. – L.

Please... Parents who worry about their kids =/= training them to live in a prison state. My parents were very protective of me as a child (and still somewhat are today). You have no right to tell them that they're wrong in their parenting. Wow.

 

[Kluge]

Amazing how the propaganda hooks you isn't it?

It gets me from time to time too.

Yep. I guess I primed myself for it today because I'd just read a news article about Jerry Sandusky. I'd already had several jobs by the time I was 9, and one of those was babysitting, so it certainly wasn't asinine, much less criminal, for this guy to let his 9 year old watch his 6 year old at a park for a couple hours.

 

[Anti Federalist]

+a zillion. This thread gives me teh sad. When I was a kid I biked and played all over the place with no supervision. Just had to tell the folks I'm headed out during long distance trips. I hope my cousins' kids aren't going through this nanny-state shit (they're in the upper-midwest). I imagine this is an incredibly depressing time to be a kid. It seems like the only "officially sanctioned" activities take place indoors.

And all premised on the idea of Safety Über Alles.

When, in fact, it was much more dangerous then, than now.

And maybe that's just what we need is some danger, some risk, instead of this stultifying miasma of placid compliance and bleating safety, safety, safety at each other.

Fuck me, the Mayflower wasn't safe.

1776 wasn't safe.

The gold rush wasn't safe.

Racing early cars on the sands of Daytona wasn't safe.

The Wright Flyer wasn't safe.

This shit will seriously make me pop a blood vessel if I get worked up over it.

 

[Danke]

Yep. I guess I primed myself for it today because I'd just read a news article about Jerry Sandusky. I'd already had several jobs by the time I was 9, and one of those was babysitting, so it certainly wasn't asinine, much less criminal, for this guy to let his 9 year old watch his 6 year old at a park for a couple hours.

And here I thought you posted that 'cause you know Kludge reads the forums...

 

[Anti Federalist]

Please... Parents who worry about their kids =/= training them to live in a prison state. My parents were very protective of me as a child (and still somewhat are today). You have no right to tell them that they're wrong in their parenting. Wow.

Your parents can do whatever they wish.

What they should not do is call the cops on people who don't raise their kids the same way.

And why don't I have that "right"?

I'm sure, based on what you said, that they would certainly disagree with my style of parenting.

Do they not have a "right" to comment on that?

 

[Kluge]

And here I thought you posted that 'cause you know Kludge reads the forums...

I actually don't know if he does anymore, but it certainly did cross my mind that it's something he'd do that I might (wrongly) get mad about.

 

[Danke]

I actually don't know if he does anymore, but it certainly did cross my mind that it's something he'd do that I might (wrongly) get mad about.

Would you ever leave Kludge in a park unsupervised?

 

[Kluge]

Would you ever leave Kludge in a park unsupervised?

Good question. His sense of direction is so terrible that doing so might mean his demise. So I'll give that a solid "probably not."

 

[Son of Detroit]

Your parents can do whatever they wish.

What they should not do is call the cops on people who don't raise their kids the same way.

And why don't I have that "right"?

I'm sure, based on what you said, that they would certainly disagree with my style of parenting.

Do they not have a "right" to comment on that?

Of course you have that right, I was speaking in a metaphorical sense. I also have the right to think that anyone who lets their 6 year old walk around alone is an idiot.

 

[donnay]

Hell I was babysitting at 9 years old!