Woman arrested for letting kid play in park

[Black Dog]

This is completely insane.

My favorite line from the news report in that link:

"You cannot leave your child alone in a public place."

I just...I can't even.

[Mighty AC]

I like this line: "...society is seized by bizarre fears that children are routinely snatched up by strangers in public places. The phenomenon is, in fact, nearly as rare as in-person voting fraud."

[Big Guy]

Child predators are drawn to places where children tend to be found. To leave a 9 year old unattended in a public park is irresponsible. I am not sure that it warrants an arrest but the parent should be educated as to her responsibility as a parent. But, you don't have to pass a test to become a parent.

[Black Dog]

Child predators are drawn to places where children tend to be found. To leave a 9 year old unattended in a public park is irresponsible. I am not sure that it warrants an arrest but the parent should be educated as to her responsibility as a parent. But, you don't have to pass a test to become a parent.

The overwhelming majority of kidnappings and assaults committed against children are committed by family or people known to the victim. Stranger danger is a pervasive and pernicious myth.

[On Guard for Thee]

Having to sit in a friggin' Mac'ds all day would have a lot more potential for harm to the kid IMO.

[Big Guy]

The overwhelming majority of kidnappings and assaults committed against children are committed by family or people known to the victim. Stranger danger is a pervasive and pernicious myth.

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

[eyeball]

This reminds me of the environmental deficit syndrome that kid apparently suffer from now as a result of parents that are afraid of letting their kids outdoors.

It's just another aspect of the terrifying terrorized times we live in and that Nanny States have to grapple with. It's security theatrics.

[DFCaper]

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

My 6 year old was dropped off from her school bus a block from my house... Should I sue the School for allowing this? She was left in Public without adult supervision.

At what age should kids be allowed to play in public without adult supervision? I see neighborhood parks with 6-9 year olds playing all the time without an adult present. Is this unusual today?

I do not live in a major city. Should it be illegal? Seems fine for where I live to allow kids play outside without direct supervision. Should we have different laws for people in major cities versus rural areas? Or should crime rates play a factor?

[Bryan]

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

How old are you? Did you never just go outside and play without any adults around when you were a kid?

Parents who don't let their kids play are the ones who should be arrested.

[Black Dog]

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

Sure, why not? It was a popular park with lots of eyes around, she had a cellphone on her. What's the problem?

Sad to think so many people are limiting their kid's development because of irrational, media-driven fears.

Here's a great (long) read on the subject.

Edited July 15, 2014 by Black Dog

[The_Squid]

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

Yes.

I also condone kids walking to school and walking to friends' houses to play.

[Argus]

Are you condoning leaving a 9 year old girl unsupervised in a public park?

Absolutely.

[Argus]

Yes.

I also condone kids walking to school and walking to friends' houses to play.

When I was a kid I even went to the local swimming pool all on my own!

[Argus]

When I was a kid I even went to the local swimming pool all on my own!

And in other parts of the world...

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-23239800

One would think walking an hour and a half each way through the jungle and along busy highways to school - every day - would be a little more difficult than playing in a park.

[Guest]

By nine years old, on days off from school, my mom saw me at breakfast and dinner. Late dinner usually, I didn't have a watch.

Edited July 16, 2014 by bcsapper

[kimmy]

My friends and I all played outdoors without parental supervision at age 9 (and younger, for that matter.) Public parks! Playgrounds! The city parks and rec swimming pool! Has the world changed that much in the past 20 years? Is Augusta that different from Edmonton and Victoria and Ottawa?

-k

[Big Guy]

How old are you? Did you never just go outside and play without any adults around when you were a kid?

Parents who don't let their kids play are the ones who should be arrested.

From the CAS manual;

http://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CBwQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.simcoecas.com%2Fen%2Fresources%2FCan%2520I%2520leave%2520my%2520Child%2520Alone.pdf&ei=YczFU7UayqzIBPy0gbgI&usg=AFQjCNFJAXeXTn3-Ku5Bu7kKQpzIkg-4og

“A child under the age of 10 should not be left alone. Although you may have taught him/her what to do in certain situations, a child under 10 years just does not have the ability to make a judgment you can count on. The bottom line is he/she might do the right thing or he/she might not.”

“No one law across Canada stipulates how old a child must be to stay home alone, but the Canada Safety Council (CSC) recommends age 10 as a minimum, and that children younger than 12 shouldn’t be left in charge of their younger siblings. Manitoba and New Brunswick regulations state that children can’t legally be left alone until age 12.”

Notwithstanding the legal aspect, it is irresponsible to leave a child that young unsupervised in a public area. You do not need to take a course or get a licence to have children but you are expected to take the responsibility for your child. You are supposed to be the adult.

The question here is not one of exercise but of safety.

There are many parents who would take the chance of allowing their 9 year old child to venture into a public space unsupervised. That is their choice. But if/when that child is harmed in any way then the parent should be held fully accountable and if that child survives, the child be removed to a safer environment.

[-1=e^ipi]

Was the child alone or with other children?

[Bob Macadoo]

From the CAS manual;

I notice you didn't actually respond to the question asked.

[On Guard for Thee]

When I was a kid growing up in the country in Ontario, I got a bike for Xmas and as soon as the ice was off the puddles in the road I rode it 12 miles each way to school. What freedom I felt and what comraderie I came to know with others. We'd join up on the way home and haul ass to that wide spot in the river created by the power dam were we all went swimming. It sure kept us in much better shape than sitting staring into a "Stupid" phone that they seem to like to do nowadays. And it was a hell of a lot more social than this crap they now try to call "social" media.

[kimmy]

Was the child alone or with other children?

That's an interesting question. We might all be working from a different mental picture. The story says it was a "park", but are we talking a playground, or are we talking like a park with a playground that sort of thing, or are we talking like a treed and secluded area?

The news story says "several hours" (well, "several house", actually, but I'm sure they meant hours.) Is "several" 2, or 4, or 8?

There's different factors that aren't explained here that could give the story a somewhat different look if we had a better mental picture.

(slight mea culpa: I read "Augusta" earlier and assumed Augusta, Georgia. It's actually North Augusta, South Carolina, which is a suburb of the better-known Augusta, right across the state border. Not sure if that makes a difference.)

-k

[eyeball]

When I was 9 I was sailing across Frenchman's Bay on plywood and 2x4 rafts, climbing the fence at the Pickering nuclear power plant, riding my bicycle on the 401. I was definitely a candidate for a Darwin Award.

We moved to the city that year and before you know it I was bumper-hitching trolly-buses down Yonge St.

[Black Dog]

From the CAS manual;

“A child under the age of 10 should not be left alone. Although you may have taught him/her what to do in certain situations, a child under 10 years just does not have the ability to make a judgment you can count on. The bottom line is he/she might do the right thing or he/she might not.”

“No one law across Canada stipulates how old a child must be to stay home alone, but the Canada Safety Council (CSC) recommends age 10 as a minimum, and that children younger than 12 shouldn’t be left in charge of their younger siblings. Manitoba and New Brunswick regulations state that children can’t legally be left alone until age 12.”

So at 10 a switch goes off in a kid's head enabling good judgement? Huh.

Of course, there's nothing there to suggest that these guidelines are actually science-based and not simply products of the current culture of fear.

Notwithstanding the legal aspect, it is irresponsible to leave a child that young unsupervised in a public area. You do not need to take a course or get a licence to have children but you are expected to take the responsibility for your child. You are supposed to be the adult.

Being responsible is not the same thing as being omnipresent. Part of parenting is letting kids try things on their own and take risks.

The question here is not one of exercise but of safety.

What risks are we talking about?

[Black Dog]

Also, I expect it goes without saying that if this woman was a white lady who left her kid in the park while she had coffee at Starbucks, she would probably have got off with a warning.

[Black Dog]

That's an interesting question. We might all be working from a different mental picture. The story says it was a "park", but are we talking a playground, or are we talking like a park with a playground that sort of thing, or are we talking like a treed and secluded area?

From several of the accounts, it's a popular public park with a play area and splashpad. On the days the kid in question was there, there were as many as 40 other children at the park.