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fishwax

(29,346 posts)

80. I walked a little more than that to school every day in first grade

Tue Jul 29, 2014, 08:49 PM

Jul 2014

as did many of my classmates. Certainly there are places where I wouldn't let a kid walk a half a mile alone, but there are also places I've been where I wouldn't see it as a big deal.

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Mother arrested for letting son walk to park alone [View all] Liberal_in_LA Jul 2014 OP

This is getting out of control JustAnotherGen Jul 2014 #1

Some nut came to our neighborhood and asked what all these children were doing out side alone lunasun Jul 2014 #42

My mom would be sitting in prison these days JustAnotherGen Jul 2014 #59

I would be her cellmate SoCalDem Jul 2014 #61

Still the same except for the cellphones some have . We are lucky that there are lunasun Jul 2014 #72

That's my life now.... Bettie Jul 2014 #82

Mom would send us out and not let us back in most of the day csziggy Jul 2014 #83

Glad I wasn't raised in this crazy era aint_no_life_nowhere Jul 2014 #68

You know, if it were me who was not going to let my child go to the park alone anymore anyway, hughee99 Jul 2014 #2

You really must be joking dballance Jul 2014 #6

Not kidding at all. hughee99 Jul 2014 #15

Like I said. Hysteria seems to rule these days. dballance Jul 2014 #24

I wasn't suggesting that the child was in serious danger, hughee99 Jul 2014 #27

And there's nothing wrong with her quote. HuckleB Jul 2014 #28

So out of this situation, your comment is that the mother needs better PR skills? TransitJohn Jul 2014 #88

Yes, very astute of you to notice. hughee99 Jul 2014 #100

It harms the child if his Mom is arrested. Mariana Jul 2014 #34

Exactly. HuckleB Jul 2014 #17

The instances of those reporting it has declined... LanternWaste Jul 2014 #44

Good Grief. Doesn't anyone remember when... dballance Jul 2014 #3

The Old Dinner Bell 4Q2u2 Jul 2014 #18

Exactly. See ya, have fun, be home for dinner. n/t PoliticAverse Jul 2014 #35

The good old days of no seat belts and lax drunk driving laws... LanternWaste Jul 2014 #46

Too funny. I remember our first car w/ seat belts. dballance Jul 2014 #47

WHAAAT??? Clearly this is INSANE Warpy Jul 2014 #4

My Mom would still be in jail if this had jaysunb Jul 2014 #5

My mom too JustAnotherGen Jul 2014 #7

mine too... 60s and 70s Liberal_in_LA Jul 2014 #10

I walked home from school that far Lex Jul 2014 #8

Our district EXPECTED children to walk and they were not eligible for a bus pnwmom Jul 2014 #19

Same here. We're raising a nation of veal calves. Throd Jul 2014 #25

amen to that.. and probably plays into why so many 30 yr olds SoCalDem Jul 2014 #63

Crushing college debt is but a fraction of it. davidthegnome Jul 2014 #97

Until the post WWII era, most families were in multi-generational homes SoCalDem Jul 2014 #98

Same here - TBF Jul 2014 #73

The arrest is over the top, but there is no place in this country... polichick Jul 2014 #9

Most school districts EXPECT 7 year olds to walk a half a mile or longer to school. pnwmom Jul 2014 #12

I'd never let such a young child walk that ALONE. polichick Jul 2014 #13

That's fine as your personal parental decision. But it makes no senses as public policy. n/t pnwmom Jul 2014 #16

I'm sure most schools suggest walking with a parent or in a group... polichick Jul 2014 #21

Ours didn't anything about that. You were either eligible for a bus, or you weren't. pnwmom Jul 2014 #26

Sure, you're a "walker" or not... polichick Jul 2014 #29

Actually, in many places crossing guards don't exist. HuckleB Jul 2014 #30

That was one example of safety rules... polichick Jul 2014 #40

My district does not require children to walk in a group, and neither does this girl's. pnwmom Jul 2014 #32

Parenting comes into it, no matter what the school requires or suggests... polichick Jul 2014 #37

But that isn't the issue here. The arrest is the issue. pnwmom Jul 2014 #38

In this thread, letting kids roam seems to be "the issue" too. polichick Jul 2014 #41

Our schools do the same. 840high Jul 2014 #85

I used to walk to school as a kindergartener hfojvt Jul 2014 #65

I did too, but there was always a group and often someone's parent... polichick Jul 2014 #76

Interesting. HuckleB Jul 2014 #20

You don't have "walkers" at your school? Well, the St. Lucie district does. pnwmom Jul 2014 #36

Well, I'm lucky enough that I can walk with him each morning. HuckleB Jul 2014 #74

Wow. A librarian friend of mine says that the libraries are full of children pnwmom Jul 2014 #75

Oh, I know. I don't get it. HuckleB Jul 2014 #84

After I read that article by the child psychologist, pnwmom Jul 2014 #89

I walked a little more than that to school every day in first grade fishwax Jul 2014 #80

Letting a 7 yr old walk alone is not wise. gerogie2 Jul 2014 #11

His school almost certainly expects 7 year olds to walk that distance every day. pnwmom Jul 2014 #14

+1 HuckleB Jul 2014 #22

Yup. I just looked up the distances for walkers for my old schools, and my kids' schools riderinthestorm Jul 2014 #54

probably not alone hfojvt Jul 2014 #67

Thank you. While I don't think arresting parents is the answer, school is very different from ... moriah Jul 2014 #69

This boy had a cell phone. How many of us had that when we walked to school? pnwmom Jul 2014 #70

You want CPS to investigate a parent for letting a kid walk to a park alone? Comrade Grumpy Jul 2014 #53

Yes. gerogie2 Jul 2014 #58

Wow, nanny culture is so popular! n-t Logical Jul 2014 #77

Meanwhile, 2 million kids live in homes with unsecured guns... HuckleB Jul 2014 #23

Good point. pnwmom Jul 2014 #39

Watch some old Leave it to Beaver episodes Duer 157099 Jul 2014 #31

The 24 hour news cycle makes us feel under seige Lex Jul 2014 #43

Leave it to Beaver wasn't real, ya know. polichick Jul 2014 #45

no, it was a far more pampered and protected childhood than what most kids knew Douglas Carpenter Jul 2014 #50

It was a fantasy about suburban family life. Sweet but fiction. polichick Jul 2014 #51

The St. Lucie school district expects kids to walk 2 MILES. Don't the cops know that? pnwmom Jul 2014 #33

Good grief. At some point the kids are going to get out that bubble and do naughty things. Tierra_y_Libertad Jul 2014 #48

my goodness when I was that age kids that age were running all over the place and it is certainly Douglas Carpenter Jul 2014 #49

Kids had up to a 1 mile walk in elementary school, 1.5 miles for middle and high schools for me riderinthestorm Jul 2014 #52

Of course this should not be something for which one is arrested. gvstn Jul 2014 #55

My mom would have been arrested a lot!! Avalux Jul 2014 #56

This reminds me of the story where the father made his boy walk home LittleBlue Jul 2014 #57

7 seems a bit young depending on the circumstances but an arrest is out of line. Warren DeMontague Jul 2014 #60

Insane. Coventina Jul 2014 #62

I would let a 7 year old marions ghost Jul 2014 #64

When I was a kid we could walk all over our neighborhood without supervision cpwm17 Jul 2014 #66

I really think it has to do with the neighborhood the child walks through. MoonRiver Jul 2014 #71

I grew up in the city of Orlando, which even back then ('60's) was bigger than Port St. Lucie steve2470 Jul 2014 #78

Mom arrested after letting 7-year-old go to park alone (another version) steve2470 Jul 2014 #79

Sounds like the busybodies are taking over the world. n/t pnwmom Jul 2014 #91

I would walk to park and school at that age abelenkpe Jul 2014 #81

So this mother didn't break any law Mariana Jul 2014 #86

Not only is there no law, but they're charging her with a FELONY. pnwmom Jul 2014 #92

Well cops have to find a new hobby Tetris_Iguana Jul 2014 #87

They're training people into being helicopter parents. nt pnwmom Jul 2014 #94

The arrest was a bit much. Iron Man Jul 2014 #90

Any area could have sex offenders. And did when we were young. too. pnwmom Jul 2014 #93

Touche�. Iron Man Jul 2014 #95

Welcome to DU, Iron Man! pnwmom Jul 2014 #96

Thank you kindly. Iron Man Jul 2014 #99