Summary
Brittany Patterson, 41, was shocked to face a criminal charge for alleged reckless conduct when her unsupervised 10-year-old son walked less than a mile from their home.
Although authorities offered to drop the charge if she agreed to always supervise her children, Patterson refuses to sign, insisting she did nothing wrong and will fight the charge, which could lead to up to a year in jail.
Her lawyer argues that parents should have discretion over their children’s whereabouts, questioning if constant GPS tracking is now expected. Patterson was released on $500 bail.
When I grew up, we were “free range kids”.
My family had a healthy idea of limits, closer to the “free range” philosophy, before such a term was required.
Our neighbors across the street, however, were the prototype for helicopter parents.
While my sibling and I gained confidence and navigational skills by biking around our confusing neighborhood before the days of GPS, the neighbor’s kids weren’t allowed to go down the street unsupervised. My siblings and I stood alone on the corner bus stop, but the neighbor’s mom sat in her car and only released her kids when the bus had arrived.
At the time, my parents made fun of theirs for holding such a tight leash. We also pitied the kids because they panicked about being “lost” when my siblings brought them on a walk around the block.
But now I see kids sitting in cars at bus stops as the norm. And of course, stories like the above article go to show that the helicopter style has won (for the time being.) The people who were raised to fear everything outside their front yard are now parents themselves.
My mom has done the sit in car while waiting for the bus to come thing before and its super annoying. Mind you the bus stop was like 60m away from the house. It actually took longer to drive because of the time it took to take the car out of the garage and get in but my mother insisted. For the past three years I have just stopped listening to my parents and just leave the house without saying anything. Its to ask for forgiveness than permission. I have been biking to neigboring cities and they don’t even realize I left. I have also been able to force them to let me bike to school because I have work right after my morning classes and biking is the fastest way to get to work.