<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Thursday, March 28, 2024
March 28, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

‘Free-range’ parents unite at Maryland park

Event brings together support for measured independence for children

The Columbian
Published: May 9, 2015, 5:00pm

Few children walked home alone. But a couple dozen families brought them to play at a Silver Spring, Md., park Saturday to show their support for Maryland’s widely known “free-range” parents and their ideas about allowing children more independence.

“How much freedom can you give them and not run afoul of the law?” said Mark Kennedy, a father of two from Silver Spring. “I really want to get some clarity.”

The morning gathering of largely like-minded parents — and some who were there by chance — came nearly a month after the parenting choices of Danielle and Alexander Meitiv became a public debate for a second time.

On April 12, the Meitivs’ 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter were picked up by police as they walked home alone in Silver Spring from Ellsworth Park, where Saturday’s event was held.

The siblings were held by police and Child Protective Services for more than five hours, and the incident triggered another CPS neglect investigation of the family.

Public reaction to the case has been intense, with many debating what constitutes responsible parenting, how safe children really are and whether the government has gone too far in enforcing laws designed to protect children.

Organizers called Saturday’s gathering a day to “Take Your Kids to the Park. . . And Let Them Walk Home By Themselves.” It did not quite work out that way, with most parents appearing to stay at the park as their children played and few youngsters walking home. News media presence was strong.

Russell Max Simon, co-founder of Empower Kids Maryland, which organized the event and supports free-range thinking, was nonetheless happy. “The message is just to show that it should be normal to see kids walking and playing by themselves,” he said.

Most parents who attended seemed to agree. Not all labeled themselves “free range,” but many said they were concerned about the implications of the Meitiv case.

Richard Fox, who attended with his wife and two children, said the case has made him question how far his 9-year-old can venture. The boy sometimes walks to school and often rides his bike in the neighborhood.

“This is something we have done since we were kids,” he said. But after the Meitiv case, he added, the family wondered, “Wow, can he be picked up by police, and can we get investigated for that?”

The Meitivs were not at the event. Their attorney, Matthew Dowd, who has said he is filing suit in the case, attended with his 10-year-old son.

Dowd said that the Meitivs were at synagogue Saturday, and that they are still under investigation by police and CPS.

“They fully support the idea behind this, and they would like to be here,” he said. “Anything that gets kids out and playing in the park and building their confidence is great.”

The event sparked a range of observations from parents. Mary Anderson, who happened to meet a friend at the park Saturday morning, said she respected the views of other parents, and though her daughter is 2, she would have reservations about her later walking on her own. “I don’t know if I’d be too comfortable letting her too far out of my view, because too many people have bad intentions,” she said. “In a perfect world, sure.”

Though the Meitiv family’s experience has been in sharp focus, the Maryland event was inspired by Lenore Skenazy, who in 2008 founded the so-called free-range movement, which encourages childhood independence. Since 2010, she has encouraged a yearly “Take Our Children to the Park . . . And Leave Them There Day.”

The way Skenazy describes it, “it’s an old-fashioned idea that should be the way kids spend every Saturday.”

Derek Drake, a father from Silver Spring who attended with his wife and 8-month-old daughter, said the Meitiv case raises important points about how people live.

Although he said that CPS was wrong to investigate the family, “it was good in a way, what they did, in that it was a wake-up call.” Too many people don’t know or trust their neighbors, he said, or spend enough time interacting in person with others.

“We’re losing our community,” he said, pointing out that in a previous generation someone would have asked the Meitiv children if they were okay, rather than place a call to authorities. “They would have been on their way home, and there would be no issues at all.”

Suzanne Urich, who happened upon the park with her niece and niece’s children, said the case made her think back to her own childhood. “I grew up where I would bike by myself. I would go to the swimming pond by myself. My parents didn’t hover,” she said.

“I believe in taking care of your kids,” she said. “But I believe in giving your kids the opportunity to deal with strangers and learn how to take care of themselves, and learn how to make some decisions, and get some reality testing.”

As the adults spoke of changing times and parenting choices, children climbed on slides and swings, chased each other, kicked a soccer ball and played with friends.

Andrei Farago, a fourth-grader, stopped for a moment to give his thoughts about children walking on their own.

“It depends how old,” he said, thinking of his 4-year-old brother who would need someone to cross the road with him. “I think every kid is capable of doing that, but it also depends how they’re brought up, stuff like that.”

At 10, he said, he has walked on his own or with other children to school and to parks. “I’ve been walking places for a long time,” he said.

Loading...