Matryoshka Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I am NOT okay with them walking the narrow, winding, hilly heavily traveled street just outside my neighborhood where the speed limit is 40 mph and most drive faster, line of sight can literally be under 5 feet in spots, there is no shoulder, no sidewalk and mostly brush on the sides of the roads or a fence that leaves no space to walk in at all, where grown adults on bikes or jogging have gotten in serious accidents (and in some cases would contribute to the danger for kids trying to walk). Yes, this is the kind of street I'm talking about. Cars go 40+mph and it's hard to see around corners. The snow piles are a problem because they limit visibility even more, make the road even narrower, and make it easy for both walkers and cars to slip and slide in case of a near encounter. And heaven forbid even in good weather if two cars meet at the same time as a pedestrian on a blind corner. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Prime examples of why exceptional situations shouldn't be the foundation of a law. "But we have to do something! For the children!" 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thessa516 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 In the UK half of children aged 5-10 years old walk to school (from Walkit.com). Here in the US we have International Walk to School Day/Week (to encourage more children to walk to school the rest of the year), the National Safe Routes to School (which encourages walking to school) and the NHTSA which puts out a child pedestrian safety curriculum beginning in kindergarten. The 4-5th grade curriculum is written in such a way that it's expected the child will have walking independence. There is even a section dedicated to the 4-5th grader walking with a younger sibling! This would be ages 9-10. The age of the boy in this story. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Shoot, 10yos not that long ago were the school crossing guards. :/ 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luanne Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 There was a ten year old girl here in Colorado who would walk a couple of blocks to a friends house and then they would walk to school together. One day in between her house and the other girl's house she was kidnapped. They found her body several weeks later. I know this isn't something that happens every day, but to pretend it never happens isn't realistic either. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 Shoot, 10yos not that long ago were the school crossing guards. :/ The 5th graders at my DD's school still do take turns being crossing guards. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MomtoCandJ Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Probably, no. I don't live in MD, but some school districts near me don't even allow a kid off the bus unless a parent is there. The rule works exceptionally well for the schools because parents just decide to pick up their kids at school. Under a certain age, they don't let the kids walk home without a parent. Same here, if I'm not right at the bus stop, dd1 won't be dropped off (in fact if she's the only one getting off, they won't even stop). Which really ticks me off because a few weeks ago I was at the end of my drive way (where the bus driver turns on her yellow flashing lights) and because I wasn't right at the stop (maybe 50 yds away, clear view), and she was the only one getting off there that day, they didn't even stop the bus. If the bus would have stopped, I would have been there to get her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted March 4, 2015 Author Share Posted March 4, 2015 There was a ten year old girl here in Colorado who would walk a couple of blocks to a friends house and then they would walk to school together. One day in between her house and the other girl's house she was kidnapped. They found her body several weeks later. I know this isn't something that happens every day, but to pretend it never happens isn't realistic either. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I have read about that murder and think it's terrible. Nothing is ever 100% safe, though—certainly not driving kids to school. We all take calculated risks every day. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I think if it's not safe for two elementary-aged kids to walk a mile down the street together to a park in broad daylight, the community should be focusing on making it safe, not preventing it. If there is no sidewalk, one can normally be put in. If there are dangerous teens or adults around (which does not seem to be the case), the police can monitor them. A pay phone for calling 911 if someone is injured is not hard to install. There is no way to guarantee safety for anyone, but when childhood obesity is a known risk, the community can make it reasonably safe to go play outside at the park that is already there for children to play in without a parent watching them every minute. Gracious. 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 There was a ten year old girl here in Colorado who would walk a couple of blocks to a friends house and then they would walk to school together. One day in between her house and the other girl's house she was kidnapped. They found her body several weeks later. I know this isn't something that happens every day, but to pretend it never happens isn't realistic either. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. Horrifying. But Elizabeth Smart was asleep in bed. The statistics I'm finding say approximately 100 kids are abducted by strangers per year in the U.S. Most within 1300 feet of their own home. Not letting kids just play outside seems like too much "safe" for me. I have SO many fond memories of being "out" from ages 6-12. I can't imagine missing out on that. And someone actually tried to kidnap my little sister and her friend from the park across the street from our house and I stopped it as a 6-7 year old. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KungFuPanda Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I think this particular law was designed to make sure people watch their small children. There ARE people who would expect their young children to watch each other during the day if this law wasn't in place. There ARE people who would let their 10-year-old care for their six-year-old all summer long if the law allowed it. They'd leave the door open to make it extra legal! I don't think we as a society suffer if there are fewer 6-year-olds dropped at the library or park unattended. I also don't think anyone will get their free-range card taken away and be issued a Helicopter Parent badge if they wait until the child is eight to send her out alone or with friends. Eight years old is still very young. The kid won't be smothered or ruined by then. I can see where this puts law enforcement in a tough position. One family's neglect is another's calculated free-range philosophy? The cops can't very well say "Well YOU look like a nice family so it's OK if you don't watch your kids, but your neighbors kids are _______ (louder, rowdier, less mature, boys, etc . . ) so they should probably watch their kindergartener for a few more years. " It turns into a big class or race issue. FWIW, I live in a walk-to-school area. There are tons of kids walking to and from school every day. Generally you see a few adults on the route to oversee the little kids. I think whether or not you walk depends more on the walkability of your route. Kids seem to be bussed across main roads, but walk to schools within their neighborhood. My daughter walks to high school and back daily. You CAN be pro-walking, pro-free-range, pro-outdoors, and still think that six is too young to not have adult supervision for hours on end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chocolatechip Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Nope, the law is that they have to be supervised under 8 by someone 13+ if they are at home, at school or in a car. What a loony law. God forbid that a 6yr old and a 10 yr old wait in the car for their mother to run in for one thing at the grocery store. But it's perfectly ok for them to stand outside the car???? 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murphy101 Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 I think this particular law was designed to make sure people watch their small children. There ARE people who would expect their young children to watch each other during the day if this law wasn't in place. There ARE people who would let their 10-year-old care for their six-year-old all summer long if the law allowed it. ... I don't think we as a society suffer if there are fewer 6-year-olds dropped at the library or park unattended. I also don't think anyone will get their free-range card taken away and be issued a Helicopter Parent badge if they wait until the child is eight to send her out alone or with friends. Eight years old is still very young. The kid won't be smothered or ruined by then. ... still think that six is too young to not have adult supervision for hours on end. I really have no issue with a 6 yr old playing by themselves for hours on end. I did. My dh did. Lots of kids in our neighborhoods did. Heck. Pretty much ALL of them did in the summer. It wasn't unusual for a mom to tell the kids to "go play" and for the kids to be gone until the next meal. Sometimes they hung out with other friends, sometimes they rode their several blocks away to a playground, field, or other friends house. Latch key kids was a really common and 10 year olds watching 6 yr old siblings was very common. We both rememebr lots of our friends who had siblings couldn't play after school until their parents got home bc they were home alone and the universal rule was stay in the house until mom or dad got home. They were supposed to do their homework and have a snack during that time, usually while watching after school cartoons. It wasn't even slightly traumatic or particuliarly dangerous unless the environment itself was dangerous to begin with. Obviously being left alone in a crack house is a whole other thing from the average family house that the kid is in whether mom is in the room with them or not. But I would argue the problem wi leaving a kid alone in a crack house isn't being left alone, it's that it is a crack house. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ktgrok Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 There was a ten year old girl here in Colorado who would walk a couple of blocks to a friends house and then they would walk to school together. One day in between her house and the other girl's house she was kidnapped. They found her body several weeks later. I know this isn't something that happens every day, but to pretend it never happens isn't realistic either. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. How many kids get in a car accident on the way to school, being driven by their parents? If we hear about one, do we say "better safe than sorry" and just not take the kid at all? I'm genuinely curious if more kids get abducted on the way to school or in car accidents. (not being snarky, now I'm seriously wondering.) That said, if my kid was walking at an odd time, or in a deserted area, or in the dark, no, I wouldn't be comfortable with that. During the day, busy street, other kids and parents out and about, I'd be fine. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reflections Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Those parents were letting their kids walk around in the sunshine (literally and figuratively). I'm more worried about the parents who never let their kids see the light of day. The ones CPS knows nothing about until they find the bodies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 There was a ten year old girl here in Colorado who would walk a couple of blocks to a friends house and then they would walk to school together. One day in between her house and the other girl's house she was kidnapped. They found her body several weeks later. I know this isn't something that happens every day, but to pretend it never happens isn't realistic either. Personally, I'd rather be safe than sorry. I think that children would be safer if there were more children out there-- right now so few are outside that there isn't anyone to watch out for each other 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyJoy Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 I think that children would be safer if there were more children out there-- right now so few are outside that there isn't anyone to watch out for each other Yep. Get enough kids together and you'll end up with a bully or two but you'll also get an 8-going-on-30-year-old like me who puts a stop to stuff or runs off for a grownup if needed. I thwarted my sister's kidnapping at age seven by following her and her friend to the sidewalk when I saw a man in a car had motioned for them to get off the see-saw to talk to him. I grabbed their hands and made them run home with me. He tried the classic "help me find my lost puppy" approach with them. There were a handful of other kids and adults around; he could have just as easily tried to make off with a kid whose mom was pushing a toddler on the swingset. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.