I’ve actually seen it more from the older generations, who seem concerned that kids might be up to no good or that there’s a fear of something happening to the kid. Parents of my generation seem more inclined to “do what you want, I’m busy enough with mine.”
Don’t get me wrong, you will always see helicopter parents, but the free rangers are getting more populous. I would say that this, like many things, is cyclic. That my “latchkey kid” generation grew up and became parents who wouldn’t do such a thing and became helicopter parents for the most part, especially those who only had one kid. And then some of us who waited to have kids saw parents showing up to college and job interviews and decided that it’s gone too far.
The perception of crimes against children has gone up, but the number of crimes have gone down. A lot of this is fear driven and fed by clickbait and headlines where rational discussions are futile. Most people just follow their kids as a result, it’s just easier.
Which is one of the better articles I have read on Salon recently.
To me, 8 seems a little young to be walking down to the store by himself. On the other hand, the whole arresting thing seems like total overkill. Why not just return the kid to the parent with a stern warning/talking to?
We’ve found that you find a middle ground. Talk to the police first, see what the local laws say, and if you need to be near them, make it a block back, giving them space. Talking with the kids is pretty much our plan, and letting them be involved in the discussion instead of telling them how it will be.
Concur on the lack of community. Far too often people reach for the phone instead of reaching out a hand.
See, this is what I mean. You knee-jerk conflate Catholicism with all of Christianity, because it’s easier than the more complex truth. Yes, the Catholic Church has a reprehensible record of enabling pedophiles. The American Episcopal Church, by contrast, enacted proactive policies decades ago to ensure that children are kept safe and would-be molesters are prosecuted. This kid was on the way to Woodville Baptist Church; now, there are about as many flavors of Baptist as there are fish in the sea, but of all the nasty things I’ve heard said about various Baptists, no one’s ever accused them of being soft on child molesters.
I think I may be able to shed a little light on this.
Blanchester, OH is home to 4,243 souls (2010 census) and at least two Baptist churches. The Freedom Worship Baptist Church website hosts a link to the KY creationist museum. The FWBC also installed the “World’s Largest Horseshoe Crab” in Blanchester as their nod to creationism.
That’s not the church he dared defy, but it should give you an idea of the tone of the town.
Here’s the site for the church he does attend - that uses a spoof of Star Wars to, “show kids the TRUE saga of God’s Word! Along the way, kids will train to become J-Di’s (Jesus Disciples) who will stand for God’s Truth and spread His light to the world!” http://woodville-baptist.org
“It is not a violation of a duty of care, protection, or support under this division when the parent, guardian, custodian, or person having custody or control of a child treats the physical or mental illness or defect of the child by spiritual means through prayer alone, in accordance with the tenets of a recognized religious body.”
Wow.
Now, either I didn’t understand or I missed it, but I didn’d understand where a child playing alone is endagerment.
How did this happen? Simple: Various neutrotic and overly protective people who have allowed ‘harm to children’ to become an overly worried about thing in our society.
I’ll be honest, when I was young my parents left me at home numerous times alone for hours when I was 6-12. No one ‘called the cops on them’ because they realized that in the real world, I could take care of myself for that short period of time.
It seems that we have a group of people today who do “I don’t like it and therefore I am going to try to nail you for it!” today.
I was a free range kid, sure. I also grew up on a school campus where all of our neighbors were my dad’s co-workers. We knew everyone and they all knew us. The roads had almost no traffic. Yes, my brother and sister and I used to bike and run all over the place and spend a lot of time at neighbor’s houses. My parents also trusted all the parents and could call any of them. We were kind of raised by the whole community.
Later when we moved to the country, we also knew our neighbors. Not as well as at the school but by then we were a little older, and so it was no big deal for my brother and I to explore anywhere we wanted to - again we were not dealing with a lot of traffic; there were a lot of woods mostly.
In this case it wasn’t clear if MikeKStar was employing satire. If he wasn’t, using the term “uppity” implies that he father was in the wrong and in a subservient position towards the cops.
Hell, I was walking around Times Square and Central Park at night in the mid-70s alone when I was 8. Most people, even sketchy criminal types, have zero interest in messing with children. There’s no money in it, and fellow criminals don’t take kindly to kiddie-fiddling. Plus I learned how to carry myself.
Not to mention that the VAST majority (I think the last time I looked it up, the stat was something around 85%) of kiddie fiddlers are known to the child in some way, and not random pedophiles off the street. “Stranger danger” is far less of a problem than “Creepy Uncle Bob” danger.
