Outrageous: dad arrested, convicted for making his 8-year-old son walk a mile home from school (toy, boys)
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It was a 6 lane highway people. He was only 8 - not old enough to make a good decision as he entered someone's car just 5 minutes later when dad returned to check on him! He entered a stranger's car! Thank goodness it was not a predator! Geez.
When I was younger I was a latchkey kid who had free reign to roam around. So what? It doesn't make it right or harmless. Would you let your baby ride without a car seat? Why not? Back in the day people lapped their kids a lot. Jeez. I hate the back in the day crap.
Btw, I don't think the dad should have been punished by law but what he did was not good parenting.
It was a 6 lane highway people. He was only 8 - not old enough to make a good decision as he entered someone's car just 5 minutes later when dad returned to check on him! He entered a stranger's car! Thank goodness it was not a predator! Geez.
When I was younger I was a latchkey kid who had free reign to roam around. So what? It doesn't make it right or harmless. Would you let your baby ride without a car seat? Why not? Back in the day people lapped their kids a lot. Jeez. I hate the back in the day crap.
Btw, I don't think the dad should have been punished by law but what he did was not good parenting.
According to the dad it was a two lane highway. Where do you get that it was 6 lanes? I agree that he probably should not have left the boy to walk on a road where there were few shoulders *if* that was so, but we don't know that either.
When I grew up, kids pretty much had the run of the town by the time they were 8. And if you missed the bus? Guess what -- you walked to/home from school. If you lived less than a mile from your school, bus service wasn't even offered! So guess how kids got back and forth to school? They typically rode their bikes or walked -- up to a mile.
How did we get from that to this in just a single generation? Good grief. At the risk of having a fist-shaking "get off muh lawn!" moment, sometimes I don't recognize the country I grew up in.
First the judge called it a highway, that is a different kettle of fish.
Additionally we have no idea how old the child is. Twelve? No problem. Seven, bigger issue.
A Chicago suburb with no less than 4 state highways running through it.
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Originally Posted by ChessieMom
but I'm pretty old and I never "roamed free" at the age of 8. My son is 21, and I assure you he never did either.
I'm guessing I'm younger than you by a fair clip. And my freedom certainly wasn't unusual; pretty much all the neighborhood kids had free reign as long as the parents had some idea where they were going. For me, this started around age 5 or however old I was when I learned to ride a bike. By 8 years old I was riding my bike literally 2 or 3 towns over.
It was a 6 lane highway people. He was only 8 - not old enough to make a good decision as he entered someone's car just 5 minutes later when dad returned to check on him! He entered a stranger's car! Thank goodness it was not a predator! Geez.
When I was younger I was a latchkey kid who had free reign to roam around. So what? It doesn't make it right or harmless. Would you let your baby ride without a car seat? Why not? Back in the day people lapped their kids a lot. Jeez. I hate the back in the day crap.
Btw, I don't think the dad should have been punished by law but what he did was not good parenting.
I looked at it on a map and didn't see six lanes anywhere on that street. Also, an eight-year-old should know not to get in a stranger's car, and it was said that a neighbor (not a stranger) picked the boy up.
De Mond said when he picked up his eight-year-old son from A-plus at Kilauea Elementary School, he noticed his son was on a time-out. On their way home, De Mond asked his son what happened.
I lived on Kauai for 3 years and about 1 in Lihue. Not many parts of the Kuhio Hwy. that would be ok for a kid walking and Traffic has gotten worse since I lived there.
Based on public records, I think the Demond family lives in Kapaa.
De Mond said the stretch of the two-lane roadway -- Kuhio Highway -- is in a safe, rural area with acre-size agricultural lots, and a wide shoulder, 10 to 25 feet wide, where it's not uncommon to see people walking or riding their bikes.
So yes, the judge called it a Highway, because the name of the road is Kuhio Highway.
Also, as someone else pointed out:
Quote:
He learned that his neighbor found the boy, but rather than bring him home, took him to school and called police.
Why a neighbor wouldn't think to contact the parent first is beyond me though
If you want to actually see the highway yourself. Here's that link:
With predators of today roaming around, children need to be aware of their surroundings and taught not to get into cars with strangers. Any parent who fails to teach this, is BAD parenting, although of course it doesn't prevent all abductions.
Making a child walk a mile home as punishment, is NOT bad parenting, and he should never have been charged for making the child walk home. Now, I have to say that if the child was dropped off in an unfamiliar area or was physically unable to walk, then that's a different story.
It's DAMNED HIGH time our children get consequenses and proper punishment for their poor choices.
That parent did no wrong IMO.
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At the risk of having a fist-shaking "get off muh lawn!" moment, sometimes I don't recognize the country I grew up in.
