Thoughts on the Georgia Mom Story
The case of Brittany Patterson has already become part of pop culture: A Georgia mom was arrested and handcuffed in front of her kids for the “crime” of not knowing her son, 10, took a walk without telling her.
The story is here – and Let Grow Pres. Lenore Skenazy was the first person to report it.
That’s because the public turns to Lenore when faced with the criminalization of childhood independence.
She and Let Grow are the loyal opposition to a culture that demands helicopter parenting. It is a culture we have been exposing, explaining, critiquing, and fighting on all fronts – not just the legal one — since Let Grow was founded in 2017.
Meanwhile, the press turns to Let Grow for perspective and facts when such stories surface. So here is Lenore on Nightline saying that Brittany’s “crime” boiled down to having a child with legs. “Everyone loses track of their kids at some point,” said Lenore.
And here’s Lenore in The Free Press, explaining what should happen when a passerby calls 911 to report seeing a child outside, unsupervised:
“When the sheriff answered the call, that should have been the end of it,” Skenazy said, who went on to describe how the call should have gone:
“Is he in distress?”
“No.”
“Is he on fire?”
“No.”
“Is a lion eating him?”
“No.”
Skenazy said the sheriff should have said, “This doesn’t sound like anything.”
Why doesn’t that happen?
Skenazy believes…there is now “a pervasive belief that any child alone must be in danger, and any parent who lets their child be alone must be terrible….” Instead of rationally comprehending the minuscule risk of doom in every mundane situation, “we’re always fantasizing about the worst-case scenario.”
Not only are those worst-case scenarios — kidnapping! Trafficking! — vanishingly rare. But some sad scenarios are NOT rare — such as the anxiety and depression running rampant in America’s kids, in part because they have been allowed so little independence, in part. After all, parents are afraid that the authorities will arrest them for not hovering 24/7!
That’s why Let Grow is working on every possible front to reverse-engineer this terrible trend. And we are having a huge impact.
- As Lenore just explained on CNN – yes, more media! — Let Grow has helped pass Reasonable Childhood Independence laws in 8 states. These laws say that neglect is when you put your child in obvious, serious danger — not anytime a sheriff can dream up something terrible with near zero likelihood of happening.
- Let Grow is making it NORMAL to see kids out and about again with our Let Grow Experience. That’s when a school gives kids the homework assignment: Go do something new on your own, with your parent’s permission but without your parents. Kids start to ride their bikes, walk to the store, and get themselves to the bus stop or school. More than 1000 schools and 1 million kids started doing The Experience this year. Thus, the American Child is re-introduced into the wild. Seeing one walk to the gas station no longer prompts a call to the cops because you see it every day.
- Let Grow is taking the temperature down regarding fears about kidnapping. Our Crime Stats page makes the case rationally: If somehow you WANTED your kid to be kidnapped by a stranger, you’d have to leave them outside, unattended, for 750,000 YEARS for that to be statistically likely.
- Let Grow’s consistent sanity is starting to stick. Perhaps most encouraging of all is this article in Parents Magazine. For years and years, Parents was a steady source of fearmongering. One memorable cover story warned parents about the “hidden danger” of laundry hampers. But its coverage of the Patterson story not only respectfully reported Lenore’s take but also SOUNDED LIKE US! It told readers that independence helps kids “become self-assured and resilient.”
You know you are moving the needle when the “Danger in your hamper!” magazine becomes the “Your kids need some unsupervised time!” magazine.
If you’d like to help us move that needle a little more, please encourage your school to do Let Grow’s independence-building initiatives (all our materials are free!). To help pass a Reasonable Childhood Independence law in your state. Or donating.
Let Grow is the only nonprofit in America dedicated to ending the overprotective, over-scheduled, and overheated culture of coddling and restoring kids to some independence, responsibility, and free play.
Want to contribute to our efforts? Please consider a donation this giving season. It’s easy and any amount is meaningful.
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