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We previously reported on the parents in Maryland who were being investigated for neglect after letting their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter make a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. Now the Washington Post that after a two-month investigation the Montgomery County Child Protective Services has found the parents responsible for “unsubstantiated” child neglect in a decision that has not fully resolved their clash with authorities over questions of parenting and children’s safety. "I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing," said Alexander Meitiv. "We feel we're being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with."
The finding of unsubstantiated child neglect means CPS will keep a file on the family for at least five years and leaves open the question of what would happen if the Meitiv children get reported again for walking without adult supervision. The parents say they will continue to allow their son, Rafi, 10, and daughter Dvora, 6, to play or walk together, and won’t be swayed by the CPS finding. “We don’t feel it was appropriate for an investigation to start, much less conclude that we are responsible for some form of child neglect,” says Danielle Meitiv, who said she and her husband plan to appeal and worry about being investigated again by CPS. “What will happen next time? We don’t know if we will get caught in this Kafkaesque loop again.” Asked how authorities would respond if the children were reported again for walking unsupervised, Paula Tolson, spokeswoman for the Maryland Department of Human Resources, said CPS would become involved if a complaint was made about the safety of the children. In such cases, “if we get a call from law enforcement or from a citizen, we are required to investigate. Our goal is the safety of children, always.”
(Score: 5, Interesting) by MichaelDavidCrawford on Tuesday March 10 2015, @04:54AM
Children grow up someday, to become adults.
I myself, when I was a child, was largely allowed to roam about freely, within certain limits. For example when I was three and four years old, I was told never to cross the street unless my sister or an adult was with me; but when I was five I was permitted to do so. Also when I was five, I lived on a mountain. Quite commonly I spent the whole day roaming about in the woods. I would go quite a long ways from home, but always I found my way back by suppertime.
When I was eight or nine, my sister and I bicycled perhaps ten miles from home. My father happened upon us, driving the other way in his car. He shouted at us, shook his fist at us - then drove home. My sister and I returned home on our bicycles, at which time our father angrily shouted at us that we should not ride so far from home, as we might get lost, but other than that he did nothing to prevent us from doing so.
At the time - when I was eight or nine - it was not uncommon that I would walk five miles from home just to buy candy, or to hang out at a recreation center for youth.
I'm particularly fond of camping in the desert; I've been to Death Valley three times, Burning Man three times. Once I drove to Baja California del Sur. I also have the Boy Scout Wilderness Survival Merit Badge as well as such others as the First Aid Merit Badge.
A couple of years ago, I was held involuntarily for ten days in a psychiatric hospital in Reno, Nevada because I happened to mention to a mental health professional that I intended to "go camping in the desert". Not being from Reno myself, I was completely unaware that "camping in the desert" is a local euphemism for committing suicide! The shrinks all seemed to regard my assertion that I have the Wilderness Survival Merit Badge as floridly delusional.
Are you familiar with the term "comfort zone". Your comfort zone is, more or less, the range of activities that you are used to doing on a regular basis. For example it's common for slashbots and soylentils to point out that they never use Facebook; therefore, Facebook is not in your comfort zone.
I have lived in, or visited many countries. I once walked roughly 200 miles from Santa Cruz, California, southwards through the Pajaro, Salinas and San Joaquin Valleys, for the most part living off the land - eating such things as prickly pears, and edible and nutritious cactus fruit.
I have a close friend who never travels, doesn't leave his home very much, who is from monterey, california but has never visited santa cruz. He now lives in oregon but to the best of my knowledge he has never set foot in washington state, nor any other US state other than oregon or california. He's never been outside of the US.
If we never permit our children to roam about freely, then as adults, they are unlikely to be adventurous enough to know how to defend themselves from an enemy.
Consider my father, who also lived in the mountains as a child, was a boy scout &c. He knew wilderness survival as well, and served in vietnam. He knew how to live of the land as well, in the case of jungle survival, he would make hearts of palm salad by slaughtering innocent little baby palm trees with his government-issue bayonet.
Yes I Have No Bananas. [gofundme.com]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday March 10 2015, @02:06PM
My wife was raised by helicopter parents.
She can not even go out to eat without a 5 point itinerary and at a minimum of 3-4 day notice. The food preselected and restaurant preselected at least 2 days in advance. A pre planed departure time and return time.
It drives me nuts. All I want to do is swing by the local burger place and grab something... Then afterwards maybe grab some ice cream depending on how I feel about it oh and maybe not get back until 11:30 (the horror). I dont require much.
I had stopped pushing her out of her comfort zone because I got tired of the pouting sessions. You have reminded me I need to start again.
Helicopter parents you are making life worse and less interesting.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by gnuman on Tuesday March 10 2015, @04:34PM
My wife was raised by helicopter parents.
She can not even go out to eat without a 5 point itinerary and at a minimum of 3-4 day notice.
One does not follow the other. There are plenty of examples of people that need an itinerary to go to local Walmart. But then they turn around and go on vacation to Caribbean with 1 day notice. Phobias are not always results of helicopter parenting, but I can't imagine that they help either.
Anyway, first step in combating phobias is acknowledging their existence. A professional could really help here.