Jeff Stahler for April 17, 2015
April 15, 2015
April 19, 2015
Transcript:
A little boy watches "Leave It To Beaver" on television while his dad reads a newspaper with stories about stalkers, crime, and guns. Beaver: ...Let's ride our bikes to the park & play basketball! Boy: Boy, that sounds fun! Father: Not without a parent.
Jason Allen about 9 years ago
I believe vfwiffo is referring to an incident in Maryland where someone called 911 to report a couple of kids in a park who weren’t accompanied by parents. The children were detained by Child Protective Services for 5 hours.Jeeze… We went to the park all the time without an adult when I was a kid. Somehow we managed to survive long enough for me to roll my eyes at the stupidity of this story.
Theodore E. Lind Premium Member about 9 years ago
This is really crazy. Growing up in Chicago, kids used to be on their own much of the time. My brother and I would walk four blocks to school by ourselves when we were in primary. I was oldest and was the official latch key kid. I would go to the library on my bike. In the evenings we would go out and play “until the street lights came on”. I can’t remember anybody having a problem and we learned to take care of ourselves and make good decisions. Today the crime rate is much lower and kids can’t be left out of sight. Really sad.
Zen-of-Zinfandel about 9 years ago
Mom…I’m outside rollerblading with Lumpy Rutherford!!
Sodaburger about 9 years ago
When I read that story about the “free range kids” in Maryland…I was so mad! I mean seriously! They’re kids not poultry! I don’t know…maybe it hit a little too close to home because I was a latch-key kid growing up, but I really don’t see why it’s such a big deal that the kids were alone.
Dtroutma about 9 years ago
Crime rates going back to the ‘50s on the risk to kids, havn’t changed much on a crimes per 100.000 population. What HAS changed is the level of paranoia, driven largely by a somewhat psychotic media.
We got a gal nearby on trial for murder, she fed the guys to her pigs, and claims she shot one to put him out of his misery as her pigs were eating him while he was still alive. How’d you like to have HER in the neighborhood, and shouldn’t her case make the national sensationalist news?
Nah, panic in the streets doesn’t require a true analysis anymore.
Dtroutma about 9 years ago
Used to ride our bikes out to a guy’s ranch and ride his rodeo stock, without his or our parents’ permission. He only got bent when drivers stopped to watch little kids riding horses behind his sign that stated “home of the world’s meanest roadeo stock”. Those were the days when kids had freedom!!