Father arrested for allowing his kids to play in public park alone.

[ThinkAnarchy]

This will likely be my last article so as not to spam the current events bored. I have been procrastinating though and finding some interesting articles as a result.

The site seems legit enough.

http://chartiersvalley.patch.com/articles/police-say-dad-left-kids-at-park-while-he-shopped-showered?ncid=newsltuspatc00000001

Govindaraj Narayanasamy, 38, of Scott, was charged with two counts of child endangerment after township police said he left the 6-year-old girl and 9-year-old boy alone in the park for nearly two hours Saturday.

How dare he let his children play alone in a park. The woman who reported this needs to start minding her own fucking business.

[Tank]

New articles are not Spam! Keep up the good work. If you're going OTT I'll drop you a polite PM 

[ThinkAnarchy]

New articles are not Spam! Keep up the good work. If you're going OTT I'll drop you a polite PM 

Ok thanks, I figured a bunch of consecutive threads could get annoying to some.

[Tank]

New articles are not Spam! Keep up the good work. If you're going OTT I'll drop you a polite PM 

Ok thanks, I figured a bunch of consecutive threads could get annoying to some.

Not I. And I've never seen a complaint on any forum complaining about too many legitimate new threads. That's just an observation NOT a challenge! 

[ThinkAnarchy]

New articles are not Spam! Keep up the good work. If you're going OTT I'll drop you a polite PM 

Ok thanks, I figured a bunch of consecutive threads could get annoying to some.

Not I. And I've never seen a complaint on any forum complaining about too many legitimate new threads. That's just an observation NOT a challenge! 

I was about to go into manic mode to test it before that last sentence. 

[DeterminedJuliet]

I agree that it is a bit much. I was definitely "free range" by the time I was 9. My younger sister and I used to run around in the woods and play spotlight for hours. It was great.

"Atheist mom" (a blogger) wrote a pretty good blog entry on this issue a few weeks ago.
http://atheistmom.com/2012/03/29/free-range-parenting/

[ThinkAnarchy]

I agree that it is a bit much. I was definitely "free range" by the time I was 9. My younger sister and I used to run around in the woods and play spotlight for hours. It was great.

"Atheist mom" (a blogger) wrote a pretty good blog entry on this issue a few weeks ago.
http://atheistmom.com/2012/03/29/free-range-parenting/

That was a really interesting blog post. I have to agree with the author. Also don't blame your parents. My mom was terrible as well, seeing as she let me ride my bike around my neighborhood with my friends unsupervised. Sometimes we were so irresponsible we rode our bikes out of the neighborhood and to the lake. Oh my. 

[history_geek]

For crying out loud. I and the kids from my neighborhood never played under "elder supervision", as it were. And now that cell phones are part of every adults and kids everyday lives and essential kit, my youngest brother has roamed around rather freely since being 6 or 7. Give your kids some credit and trust....

[Amicale]

So far, I appear to be the only one here who'd never let their 6 or 9 year old play alone in a park for two hours. I think he was a father who made an unwise choice. I don't think he should have been arrested for it, though. All parents make mistakes when they do something silly but certainly never intend to harm their children. If the park were relatively close to my home, I'd allow a 9 year old to play there, but I'd certainly be checking on them. I wouldn't allow a 6 year old (only 2 years older than my daughter, ack!) to play alone. I'd be worried sick every moment for her safety.

Maybe my perspective is based on my location. The area I live in is *relatively* safe, but it's a city and the local parks here aren't places I'd allow my child to be unsupervised in. It's not an issue of trusting the child. It's more that in certain areas, there are some, uh, 'unsavory' people who you don't trust and who could easily approach your child.

[DeterminedJuliet]

So far, I appear to be the only one here who'd never let their 6 or 9 year old play alone in a park for two hours. I think he was a father who made an unwise choice. I don't think he should have been arrested for it, though. All parents make mistakes when they do something silly but certainly never intend to harm their children. If the park were relatively close to my home, I'd allow a 9 year old to play there, but I'd certainly be checking on them. I wouldn't allow a 6 year old (only 2 years older than my daughter, ack!) to play alone. I'd be worried sick every moment for her safety.

Maybe my perspective is based on my location. The area I live in is *relatively* safe, but it's a city and the local parks here aren't places I'd allow my child to be unsupervised in. It's not an issue of trusting the child. It's more that in certain areas, there are some, uh, 'unsavory' people who you don't trust and who could easily approach your child.

I don't think your personal comfort zone on this is unreasonable. Personally, I have no idea how I'll feel once our wee guy gets a bit older (he's not yet two. So I don't leave him unsupervised pretty much anywhere). I think it depends a lot on the kid/area/how well you know the neighbours, etc.

But, unlike you, I think there are a lot of HYSTERICAL parents out there. I'd argue that, for me, it's not even so much about whether my son is unsupervised or not. It's more about whether I want to make him afraid of everything and everyone. I think some parents really push their adult worries, concerns and fears on their children and I find that kind of bothersome.

[ablprop]

Steven Pinker addresses this issue in The Better Angels of Our Nature. I plead guilty to being one of the "helicopter parents" that Pinker refers to. I'm trying to get better.

Pinker at one point says something like - if you actually want your kid to be abducted by a stranger, statistically you'd have to leave him outside unattended for 750,000 years.

Ironically, I think it's the rarity of this sort of stranger violence against children that makes it so horrendous. It's a little bit like the fear of shark attack. The rarer it is, somehow the more horrible it would be if it actually happened. Not only is your child gone, but you've just become the world's worst parent.

By the way, Better Angels is a life-changing book. Read it, or do like I did and download the audiobook.

[Whitney]

Unless the park was in a neighborhood within eyesight of friendly houses (as in neighbors who know them) then I wouldn't let a 6 and 9 year old play alone for any amount of time.  Arresting the father is, of course, a bit much as I think only real criminals who intend to cause harm should be arrested.  We were allowed to run around our neighborhood not directly supervised when we were kids but we were always within earshot of some parent even if it wasn't our own so if our parents wondered about us they just called over to the house we said we'd be near.  This was well before kids had cell phones; back in the days before or just after the bag cell phones, but the safety concern is real eyes of safe people being on the kids not just being able to call.  I know how most 6 and 9 year olds act these days...the 6 year old is too young to be left alone and the 9 year old isn't mature enough to keep careful watch or offer protection apart from running if something happens.

[Asmodean]

Did something happen to the kids?

Because from what I understand, the chances of some asshole doing something to them are like..? One in a whole lot, no?

Let the kids explore their world, I say. They wil burn themselves from time to time, and after the fact, they'll probably appreciate parents being there for them.

My point is: the world is not as full of creeps, weirdos and reckless drivers as many parents seem to think. Being protective is all good and well, but being overprotetive..? Well, in my experience, people who had such parents grew up to be the most insecure, high-maintenance adults I know. (Limited sample of five and two suspected. Rate of 100%)

[Amicale]

Just to be clear - I don't want to be so over-protective that I make my daughter scared of the world, or suspicious of everyone she meets. That's never my intention, and never will be. I just prefer balance, is all. If she goes to the park, especially when she's as young as she is, I go with her and she has the absolute freedom to run around and climb all over everything and have fun. I'd just prefer being there. Same when we're out in public. I'm already teaching her to be very careful who she talks to or goes with, because she's an overly friendly kid who'd unfortunately probably happily toddle off with someone if they said they had puppies to show her. Sigh. She doesn't understand at ALL the concept of being careful, or prudent in who she speaks to. And at the age of 4, she's certainly not capable of supervising herself. By the time she's 9 or 10.... sure. But for now, while she is little, I'd sooner be cautious and be there for her and with her as often as I can be.

[Sweetdeath]

Personally i think this father is an idiot, but arresting him is definitely extreme.
I guess some people feel "oh, my neighborhood is safe. This would never happen to me."
I would never let kids that young be alone in a public place for so long. I mean, what the crap was he doing for 2 hours!!?