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Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

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Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#51
post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

completely agree. I'm roughly same age as you, same experience. When we were kids we literally ran all over the place until dark with no adult supervision. Man I still remember coming home, having cuts and bruises all over me, having a pencil stuck out of my arm, bleeding, covered in poison ivy, the works. But I loved it! Those were some of the best memories of my life, exploring the woods, building tree forts and sw…

> When we were kids we literally ran all over the place until dark with no adult supervision. Man I still remember coming home, having cuts and bruises all over me, having a pencil stuck out of my arm, bleeding, covered in poison ivy, the works. But I loved it! Article is about a 3 year old. I don’t think any issue would arise if a 7-10 year old did the same today.

Yes, our ages ranged from 2 to 8. There was 5 of us.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These posts rarely point out incredibly strict immigration policies and the stark racial makeup of the countries that rely on group dynamics for rather inconvenient reasons. When you have a largely homogenous population that has been stable over decades - centuries in the case of Japan - then these types of relationships evolve.

It has nothing to do with immigration. I was out walking to school, going to the bakery, sledding, etc with friends in Germany throughout the 90s from like age 6.

Hey, I was at a war and did not get injured, now I am totally sure no one ever gets injured on wars, because I was not injured!

Hey I drive my car for 30 years without a seatbelt and was never injured, it surely means that seatbelts are useless and you can’t really get injured in a car, so why even bother with protection?

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#53
post #12

I biked all over my Midwest USA neighborhood, to and from school, and beyond from the time I was about 8, maybe even younger. This was in the 1970s. It would have been unthinkable for anyone to be overly worried about it, much less report it to the authorities, because that's what almost all the kids did.

The kid in article was 3 years old. There is a big difference between a 3 year old kid and an 8 year old.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#54
post #8

I wonder how we got to this. I'm all for parents being protective over children that aren't theirs, but when did we develop the entitlement that we should police the parents of other children? Obligatory "When I grew up...": When I grew up (I'm 32), there were still murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, gangs, etc. My parents and the parents of all my friends let us roam free from the minute we finished our chores unt…

The truth is, that we need some human wulfes to bind the family unit together. Without at least the ilusion of danger- people go wild, as the fear to be left by spouses/men in a now allmost danger free world.

Crime is falling. Public self-surveilance allmost eradicates all remaining "dangers". So they make the danger up. There is the reason why every suburbian home slightly reminds of a fortification.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#55
post #11
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My 3 year old never ran into the road, and as a six year old she would keep a tight leash on her little brother if he ever tried to do that. I’d for sure let them walk down a residential street by themselves.

Sure, in a calm environment. But when kids start having fun together - they lose control of the boundaries and can inadvertently run on the road without even noticing it.

You just described nearly everyone I went to university with.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#56
post #8

I wonder how we got to this. I'm all for parents being protective over children that aren't theirs, but when did we develop the entitlement that we should police the parents of other children? Obligatory "When I grew up...": When I grew up (I'm 32), there were still murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, gangs, etc. My parents and the parents of all my friends let us roam free from the minute we finished our chores unt…

> When I grew up (I'm 32), there were still murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, gangs, etc. My parents and the parents of all my friends let us roam free from the minute we finished our chores until dark. They often let us decide for ourselves how we wanted to get our lunch, dinner, snacks, etc. We could choose our own transportation, our own paths. I treasured that freedom. Where you grew up, when you grew up, what…

Naw... grew up in a city. Parents walked me to school the first day of 1st grade, across 8 blocks and 1 major street light. Walked to school for the next 5 years. I had more freedom than most 12yr olds in suburbia today (can't ride their bike past the end if the block).

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#57
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

completely agree. I'm roughly same age as you, same experience. When we were kids we literally ran all over the place until dark with no adult supervision. Man I still remember coming home, having cuts and bruises all over me, having a pencil stuck out of my arm, bleeding, covered in poison ivy, the works. But I loved it! Those were some of the best memories of my life, exploring the woods, building tree forts and sw…

My mate Bob had free-ranging parents, but he was hit by a car and killed when he was seven so he's not here to say "survivor bias".

Plenty of kids whose parents were watching them got hit by cars, because parents can't be watching every second. Kids with a tendency to get carried away and run in front of cars are going to do it even with their parents in view. Better to condition kids not to do a few obvious dangerous things, than to maintain constant vigilance and try to intervene before they do dangerous things.

Also, these days, a parent "watching" their kid(s) means proximity, not awareness. The parent may be within view, but that's useless when they're glued to their phone a good percentage of the time and only glance up now and then.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#58
post #8

I wonder how we got to this. I'm all for parents being protective over children that aren't theirs, but when did we develop the entitlement that we should police the parents of other children? Obligatory "When I grew up...": When I grew up (I'm 32), there were still murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, gangs, etc. My parents and the parents of all my friends let us roam free from the minute we finished our chores unt…

I agree 100% but I think you are putting the blame in the wrong place. When the system is bad, people will abuse it - always. i.e you will always get busybodys and idiots. I think CPS has too much power here, to intervene in a case where there was no obvious harm.

We’ve made a system to encourage and enable busybodies, though. The system is this way because some people wanted it to be. I don’t think CPS is always the problem—often they’re obligated to investigate.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#59
post #8

I wonder how we got to this. I'm all for parents being protective over children that aren't theirs, but when did we develop the entitlement that we should police the parents of other children? Obligatory "When I grew up...": When I grew up (I'm 32), there were still murderers, kidnappers, drug dealers, gangs, etc. My parents and the parents of all my friends let us roam free from the minute we finished our chores unt…

completely agree. I'm roughly same age as you, same experience. When we were kids we literally ran all over the place until dark with no adult supervision. Man I still remember coming home, having cuts and bruises all over me, having a pencil stuck out of my arm, bleeding, covered in poison ivy, the works. But I loved it! Those were some of the best memories of my life, exploring the woods, building tree forts and sw…

> I don't get why so many people in our generation turned into complete snowflakes with their kids (don't forget our generation is also responsible for "gender neutral parenting").

You’re ranting about the wrong target. The parent in this story trusted their children with an appropriate amount of independence. An unknown adult was the one who complained.

Re: Mom Lets Her Kids Walk to the Bakery Down the Block. CPS Chastises Her

#60
post #22
post #4

It is kind of dangerous for a 3 year old to go, 3 year olds like to run especially when they are with siblings, and they can easily end up running on a road, and then someone who hit them on a car will have to live their whole life with that tragedy...

It really depends on the 3 year-old. Some kids are more cautious and attentive than others; and families with multiple children often have a decent "chain of responsibility" where a 3 year-old will look to a 7 year-old for leadership and guidance. Many kids recognize when they're being granted extra leeway, and they're accordingly extra careful. And some kids are utterly out of control and won't mind the simplest ins…

I think that most adults underestimate the intelligence of kids due to their own narcissistic ego injury. Kid's are incredibly capable and smart if you give them the opportunity to grow.

My dad started teaching me C/C++ and basic electronics when I was 7-8, and I got my ham radio license when I was 9.

The idea that you need to be 12 to understand that you should run away from creepy strangers is hilarious and scary as fuck. These helicopter parents are dangerously kneecapping their kids right from the start :\

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