Two parents keep getting in trouble for the amount of freedom they give their kids.

[eridani]

My parents would have spent most of my childhood in jail if they had to contend with laws like this.

http://www.upworthy.com/it-didnt-seem-to-them-like-a-criminal-act-they-just-let-their-kids-walk-themselves-home

When Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, parents in Silver Spring, Maryland, first let their 10-year-old walk their 6-year-old home from a park, they got a warning from child protective services and were forced to sign an agreement not to leave the children unattended anymore. It was that or lose the kids, according to this video (also below) from The Washington Post.

The Meitivs are trying to teach their kids to be self-sufficient in a way they feel is right. The Meitivs are part of the Free-Range Kids movement, whose motto is "How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry)."

The children were discovered again by themselves at a park in April 2015. This time, they were taken into protective custody, and the authorities wouldn't release them for over five hours.

The Meitivs were accused of neglect and warned that protective services would file charges and send the children into foster homes unless the parents made a legal commitment to a safety plan.
When is it OK for kids to go out on their own?

Maryland does have a state law that says children under 8 must be accompanied by a person of at least 13. It's on the books to protect young children who may otherwise lack proper adult supervision.

And a 10-year-old may seem young to be responsible for a 6-year-old. Maybe you agree with the Meitivs, maybe not. Still.

[get the red out]

1. Free range

My whole neighborhood of kids were "free range" from about 8 or 9. In my elementary school, 6th graders could go "out" for lunch , with parental permission, and go to various restaurants in our small town.

My 79 year old Mom would still be in prison if things were like they were today, back then. I guess people are just more predatory toward children now. I don't know.

[Ex Lurker]

3. On Saturdays I would leave the house in the morning and not come home until dark

My parents thought nothing of it. Different world now, I guess.

[Nay]

5. That was our neighborhood in the fifties. We didn't come home until dinner. My brother and I

were 6 or 7 years old and we, and all the other kids, played outside all day without supervision. We lived near the beach, too, so it's not like there weren't strangers or dangers of other kinds; but we went out there after getting warned about some stuff. It was a wonderful way to live, frankly. I think kids today will suffer greatly from being stuck in their houses, going out on scheduled play dates. But what can a grandma do?

[Radael]

2. How far was the park from home?

That should be a factor.

[justiceischeap]

4. Yet, if any child in Maryland lives 1.1 mile or under away from school

They can walk there on their own. Supervision by older siblings is encouraged but not required.