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Here are the facts: Debra Harrell works at McDonald's in North Augusta, South Carolina. For most of the summer, her daughter had stayed there with her, playing on a laptop that Harrell had scrounged up the money to purchase. (McDonald's has free WiFi.) Sadly, the Harrell home was robbed and the laptop stolen, so the girl asked her mother if she could be dropped off at the park to play instead.
Harrell said yes. She gave her daughter a cell phone. The girl went to the park—a place so popular that at any given time there are about 40 kids frolicking—two days in a row. There were swings, a "splash pad," and shade. On her third day at the park, an adult asked the girl where her mother was. At work, the daughter replied.
The shocked adult called the cops. Authorities declared the girl "abandoned" and proceeded to arrest the mother..
So the girl asked to play in the park instead of waiting at her mum's work? Presumably she could have gone back to her mum's work if she didn't want to stay in the park anymore. That's not so bad. If the authorities are concerned then they should help with childcare for the mother instead of taking her kid away.
9 year olds go to the park by themselves here (and the beach, and the shops, and all around), no one would call the police about that. At that age they are no longer eligible for after-school care so they are well used to taking care of themselves for a few hours before their parents get home from work. I sent my 3 year old to the park across the road by herself the day before yesterday, there was another mum there but she didn't bat an eyelid.
So the girl asked to play in the park instead of waiting at her mum's work? Presumably she could have gone back to her mum's work if she didn't want to stay in the park anymore. That's not so bad. If the authorities are concerned then they should help with childcare for the mother instead of taking her kid away.
9 year olds go to the park by themselves here (and the beach, and the shops, and all around), no one would call the police about that. At that age they are no longer eligible for after-school care so they are well used to taking care of themselves for a few hours before their parents get home from work. I sent my 3 year old to the park across the road by herself the day before yesterday, there was another mum there but she didn't bat an eyelid.
Here in the U.S. here is what I found regarding leaving kids alone at home... it does vary by state and some states have no regulations in place. The SafeKids campaign says kids under 12 shouldnt be left alone in the house.
Speaking as a parent of a 9 yr old and twin 5 yr olds....if there was a 3 yr old at the park alone playing I would feel that the parents should be there. If not then I am going to take my time to watch that kid to be sure he/she is safe. I in good conscience just can't ignore him/her and god forbid something happens.
Also having been a park with our 5 yr olds and having older kids there without parents there....I have ran into way too many issues with the older kids 9, 10, 11 hogging equipment, blocking access to a slide, etc and basically my role turned into being a parent for them so our kids could play. I dont feel that is my place....but my 5 yr old boys arent going to barge through older kids and the older kids certainly wont move unless they are told too by an adult.
But here in Minnesota here are the general guidelines for when investigations are open:
the following reports will be investigated or assessed:
Reports of children age 7 and younger left alone for any period of time.
Reports of children age 8– 9 who are alone for more than 2 hours.
Reports of children age 10– 13 alone for more than 12 hours.
Reports indicating that children age 14– 17 are unsupervised while parents are absent for more than 24 hours will be screened, considering adequate adult back-up supervision.
Here in the U.S. here is what I found regarding leaving kids alone at home... it does vary by state and some states have no regulations in place. The SafeKids campaign says kids under 12 shouldnt be left alone in the house.
Speaking as a parent of a 9 yr old and twin 5 yr olds....if there was a 3 yr old at the park alone playing I would feel that the parents should be there. If not then I am going to take my time to watch that kid to be sure he/she is safe. I in good conscience just can't ignore him/her and god forbid something happens.
Also having been a park with our 5 yr olds and having older kids there without parents there....I have ran into way too many issues with the older kids 9, 10, 11 hogging equipment, blocking access to a slide, etc and basically my role turned into being a parent for them so our kids could play. I dont feel that is my place....but my 5 yr old boys arent going to barge through older kids and the older kids certainly wont move unless they are told too by an adult.
She was playing with an older kid who lives next door to us, the other family had left when I went back to get her (I did actually go out to look across the road and check on her every couple of minutes as she's potty training and isn't allowed to cross the road by herself to come back to use the loo) so I'm pretty sure they weren't worried. All the kids play out by themselves in my little area.
My experience with older kids at the park is that most of the time they are pretty good with making sure the younger ones get their turn, the older ones tend to 'police' things and also look out for the younger ones to make sure they don't get hurt (running behind swings etc.)
Then you'd be calling the cops on just about every parent back when I was a kid. Actually, we weren't dropped off, we just left the house and biked there (yikes!). We went home when we were hungry for lunch or the sun was going down. Yes, much better that kid spend their time playing on an ipad or phone at their parent's place of work for hours than play in a park, surrounded by other kids, getting fresh air and exercise.
A typical shift is 8 hours. Were you really left alone for 8 hours with no one available to you if you need adult help?
Here are the facts: Debra Harrell works at McDonald's in North Augusta, South Carolina. For most of the summer, her daughter had stayed there with her, playing on a laptop that Harrell had scrounged up the money to purchase. (McDonald's has free WiFi.) Sadly, the Harrell home was robbed and the laptop stolen, so the girl asked her mother if she could be dropped off at the park to play instead.
Harrell said yes. She gave her daughter a cell phone. The girl went to the park—a place so popular that at any given time there are about 40 kids frolicking—two days in a row. There were swings, a "splash pad," and shade. On her third day at the park, an adult asked the girl where her mother was. At work, the daughter replied.
The shocked adult called the cops. Authorities declared the girl "abandoned" and proceeded to arrest the mother..
Thanks for the links. If you look at the park and moms job on a map. They are less than 5 min walk. Totally changes my mind on this one.
Mom should not have been arrested, if there was an issue the child could have been at her moms job in minutes. Similar to sending them off to a neighborhood park.
I find this situation so surprising. Kids this age and younger are regularly dropped off at libraries for hours on end and no one says a word.
I admire the woman for holding down a job and doing her best to support her and her daughter and hope this unfortunate situation will trigger some assistance in arranging for childcare while she works.
Wow....you were advanced good for you. I have known a few people who were accelerated through due to academics.
No, I just started school when I was four because my mother thought I was ready and was bored at home. But my point isn't my wonderful academic career. It's the fact that a 9 year-old should be able to play outside unsupervised for a while with other kids, despite what another poster said.
A typical shift is 8 hours. Were you really left alone for 8 hours with no one available to you if you need adult help?
This is the real point. Kids who used to play all day outside in the good old days generally had a nearby adult to readily access.
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