Mother put on child abuse register for letting her 5 year old go for a walk!

How old was the boy? Fairly pertinent, IMO.

Its America. Nothing surprises me anymore 😱

5, it's in the heading sorry.

I read about that and it seems the little boy refused to get into the security guards vehicle because he didn't know him. The guard walked him home.

In the US they seem to molly coddle their children and don't let them take any risks.

There are videos on You Tube like this one www.youtube.com/watch?v=F82v6sjwxdg of reactions to Forest schools in Denmark

It was a gated community in the US quite safe, she knew her child enough to know he was sensible. I probably wouldn't have let mine go out of sight aged 5, but the authorities were far too heavy handed given the context. I think he wanted to go back to a pond they passed to collect goose feathers. Not sure where it was in the US, definitely wouldn't let him go anywhere near a water hole in the deep south. Alligators 🐊

I wouldn’t let a five year old go out to the park on his own, even in a gated community. I’d be worried about them drowning, being bullied or attacked, or getting lost.

Or worse.

I wouldnt either.

Oh I see it's Virginia, hopefully gators don't get up that far.

So do vehicles move around the gated community? Aged 5, no road sense. But sounds a bit Draconian 7 years on the register. Perhaps neighbours have seen him wondering around before.

It’s a little young in my imo.
I wouldn’t let my children (if I had any) out alone, especially today under eight.
I bet once that asylum camp is opened near Piddington, I bet parents will not let their children out of their sight.
Shame really as the kids did a campaign where the kids stated they like going to the park, pay on the common. One lad like to go to the grave yard to visit his sister.

I read this and am conflicted. At 5 years old a child should not be wandering around unsupervised near a pond of some description even in a gated community. I mean yes I played out unsupervised at age 5 but my older sister and cousins were with me and neighbours always kept a close eye on us if only to tell us off for doing something naughty. And there was not the traffic there is today. Not sure if any kind of vehicle could have driven near the child. But in any case a 5 year old alone isn’t advisable, however, the punishment does seem extreme.

I really don't know why people think it is so much more dangerous for kids now than when we were that age? I know there is more traffic, but children can learn road sense from a very young age, where to cross safely etc, There are security cameras on every corner, kids have mobile phones and even trackers. Yet there seems to be this mass conviction that it is too dangerous to let children out to play.

It is too dangerous when they are five and are explicitly going to collect feathers by a pond though, which was the case here.

GrandmaKT

I really don't know why people think it is so much more dangerous for kids now than when we were that age? I know there is more traffic, but children can learn road sense from a very young age, where to cross safely etc, There are security cameras on every corner, kids have mobile phones and even trackers. Yet there seems to be this mass conviction that it is too dangerous to let children out to play.

I know that stranger danger happened when we were kids, though usually it wasn’t a stranger but a family member. But I would worry about older kids being malicious and filming it on their phones etc, which seems to happen more than it should.

He was heading towards water ( pond or river I m not sure which)
No my 5 year old would not be going for a walk towards water or even out on their own away from calling distance No way
My youngest would play out with her older brother and sister within my boundaries which they always adhere to They had their boundaries and they stuck to them and they were all safe

With all these safety issues in place and so many cameras it’s amazing how many children and adults go completely missing GrandmaK every year

MT62

It’s a little young in my imo.
I wouldn’t let my children (if I had any) out alone, especially today under eight.
I bet once that asylum camp is opened near Piddington, I bet parents will not let their children out of their sight.
Shame really as the kids did a campaign where the kids stated they like going to the park, pay on the common. One lad like to go to the grave yard to visit his sister.

I don’t agree with them being put on the register. I would need to know the background of that family. How grounded that family is.
Maybe they should have been given a lecture on what could happen letting a child out that young.
My Gc is eight & never been out on their own. I do see young kids flying on bikes around here.
To be honest I’ve never seen a police person stopping a child to ask where they are going.

A bit of background of the family MT62- they have five children, the mum has a degree in family science before training as a lawyer. The father is a family therapist! They have made a positive effort not to be "helicopter parents".