Parents Arrested for Neglect

[SciFi Chick]

Florida: Mom arrested after letting her 7-year-old son walk to park alone.

South Carolina: Mother arrested after letting her 9-year-old play outside within walking distance of her work, while carrying a cell phone.

Tennessee: Mom arrested for letting her two children play in a park, unsupervised, a block and a half from their home.

WTF is going on here?

[The Supreme Canuck]

What's likely going on is that news websites know that this sort of thing (parents arrested for doing something that isn't actually neglectful) generates hits. So they leave out the parts of the story that actually explain the arrest.

It's like that "Woman sues McDonald's for serving her hot coffee" story - context is stripped away to generate something outrageous and sensationalized. Reporting on legal issues is almost as bad as reporting on scientific issues. You rarely get a full or accurate picture.

That's what I suspect, anyway. It could well be that there's something ridiculous happening here, but from experience there's usually something more reasonable going on.

[Swift]

I suspect TSC has it exactly correct. And the old monkey-see-monkey-do, once one news outlet finds a story like this, they all look for one.

I wonder how many of these arrests ever translate to actual trials and actual convictions. And how many might become ACLU lawsuits for false arrest and get quietly settled out of court.

[FZR1KG]

America, the rugged individualist nanny state?

If the playgrounds are so dangerous then do something about it I say.

[Swift]

If the playgrounds are so dangerous then do something about it I say.

Give the kids semi-automatic pistols (they are just kids). The moms should be equiped with AK47s or the equivalent, should be wearing body armor, and be authorized to call in air strikes (non-nuclear, let's not get carried away) as necessary.

These rules only apply to suburbs with an average household income above $75,000 per year. Inner city kids are on their own, and if they need guns they should buy them from their drug lord.

[Yosh]

If the playgrounds are so dangerous then do something about it I say.

Give the kids semi-automatic pistols (they are just kids). The moms should be equiped with AK47s or the equivalent, should be wearing body armor, and be authorized to call in air strikes (non-nuclear, let's not get carried away) as necessary.

These rules only apply to suburbs with an average household income above $75,000 per year. Inner city kids are on their own, and if they need guns they should buy them from their drug lord.

Sorry, no Mom's calling in air strikes unless they've a certified Combat Controller and have their JTAC certification*.

(*Joint Terminal Attack Controller)

'Course, CC is closed to women at the moment, but that'll probably change in the near future.

[Sigma_Orionis]

So Sarah "Momma Bear" Palin doesn't get to call air strikes?

[SciFiFisher]

So Sarah "Momma Bear" Palin doesn't get to call air strikes?

Only when she was governor of Alaska and could order the Alaska Air National Guard to provide Close Air Support (CAS).

[FZR1KG]

So Sarah "Momma Bear" Palin doesn't get to call air strikes?

Only when she was governor of Alaska and could order the Alaska Air National Guard to provide Close Air Support (CAS).

The only ting that woman knew about close air support was her bra.

[Sigma_Orionis]

So Sarah "Momma Bear" Palin doesn't get to call air strikes?

Only when she was governor of Alaska and could order the Alaska Air National Guard to provide Close Air Support (CAS).

Aw Gee, too bad she quit

[Swift]

So Sarah "Momma Bear" Palin doesn't get to call air strikes?

Only when she was governor of Alaska and could order the Alaska Air National Guard to provide Close Air Support (CAS).

Aw Gee, too bad she quit

She quit wearing a bra?

[Sigma_Orionis]

Nope, she quit being a Governor

[SciFiFisher]

Nope, she quit being a Governor

He knew that.

[Rommie]

There is some truth to it- read this essay about a woman who left her son one day in a car for five minutes while she ran into a shop, doors locked and it wasn't a hot day. Some busybody saw and instead of, say, keeping an eye out for a few minutes like people used to whipped out a phone to take a video and gave it to police. Mom describes how she had to fight child endangerment charges as it turns out such things aren't well defined.

I'm not saying all those articles are bunk- I know for the 9 year old girl case, for example, turns out her child was being turned loose all day in the park outdoors without supervision. After a few days someone noticed, you know, why a kid was spending her days outdoors. I mean I wandered around plenty at that age but I'm pretty sure that wouldn't have been acceptable when I was a kid.