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Parents Investigated For Neglect For Letting Kids Walk Home Alone
HughPickens.com writes The WaPo reports that Danielle and Alexander Meitiv in Montgomery County Maryland say they are being investigated for neglect after letting their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter make a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. "We wouldn't have let them do it if we didn't think they were ready for it," says Danielle. The Meitivs say they believe in "free-range" parenting, a movement that has been a counterpoint to the hyper-vigilance of "helicopter" parenting, with the idea that children learn self-reliance by being allowed to progressively test limits, make choices and venture out in the world. "The world is actually even safer than when I was a child, and I just want to give them the same freedom and independence that I had — basically an old-fashioned childhood," says Danielle. "I think it's absolutely critical for their development — to learn responsibility, to experience the world, to gain confidence and competency."
On December 20, Alexander agreed to let the children walk from Woodside Park to their home, a mile south, in an area the family says the children know well. Police picked up the children near the Discovery building, the family said, after someone reported seeing them. Alexander said he had a tense time with police when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world. The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services which showed up a couple of hours later. Although Child Protective Services could not address this specific case they did point to Maryland law, which defines child neglect as failure to provide proper care and supervision of a child. "I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing," says Alexander. "We feel we're being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with."
On December 20, Alexander agreed to let the children walk from Woodside Park to their home, a mile south, in an area the family says the children know well. Police picked up the children near the Discovery building, the family said, after someone reported seeing them. Alexander said he had a tense time with police when officers returned his children, asked for his identification and told him about the dangers of the world. The more lasting issue has been with Montgomery County Child Protective Services which showed up a couple of hours later. Although Child Protective Services could not address this specific case they did point to Maryland law, which defines child neglect as failure to provide proper care and supervision of a child. "I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing," says Alexander. "We feel we're being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with."
Think of the children! There could have been terrorists and socialists on that road, or even the big bad wolf. Any sensible parent would chip their kids and give them a phone with tracking apps hidden within...it's the only way to be safe.
Your parents have been ready for long time, now.
A: Because it's programming. Duh.
More important to know is that how many football fields is it? It seems that at least in US the distances are measured in football fields and weights in cars or elephants.
Works great in Internet Explorer!
That's not really a compliment.
But what if it was the systemd which threatens the poor children on their walk?
Guess your one of those smarter than the rest of the world techs, nerds etc. A colleague confining with others on his life matters and you want to bust balls about how tech Davy you are. 15 maybe? Damn man grow up.
The irony is strong with this one.
I am Slashdot. Are you Slashdot as well?
Yeah, but it's different in Australia. By they time you're ten, you've survived dingoes, death adders, recluse spiders, great white sharks, and deadly post-apoc race-cars covered in spikes. To the average pedo, you're not low-hanging fruit.
Well, a pedo and a bear, that's a dangerous combination...
Ezekiel 23:20
Yeah, I had to walk a mile-and-a-quarter to school everyday, by myself! During Summer vacation, my mother would force me to go outside, and stay outside, until suppertime! With no supervision! Wow, I'm only realizing now, I really was neglected as a child. Of course, all the other kids were neglected in exactly the same way. It's a miracle we weren't all abducted!
In all seriousness, I can only pity the way kids grow up today. And everyone wonders why they're so fat.
-- sudon't
Air-ride Equipped
CPS was Hydra's fallback in case SHIELD was a bust.
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!
The more I read stories like this, the more I'm kind of glad that my dad passed away a long time ago. No way could he live in this world. Hell, I would be embarrassed to even let him *see* it.
Dad: "I faked my age to enlist at fifteen and fight at D-Day." Me: "In this world, leaving a twelve-year-old home alone can be considered child abuse." Dad: "And you're properly ashamed of this, right?" Me: "Every day I want to jump off a building."
Best to channel your energies into something positive. Throw someone else off a building instead.