Mom Jailed for Letting Son Walk Outside: John Stossel’s Video and 3 More Facts

A mother was ARRESTED for letting her 8-year-old son walk half a mile home. Prosecutors said she put her kid “in imminent danger of death.” Really?

So begins this viral video by John Stossel on Stossel TV:

It shows a mom, Heather Wallace, arrested for having her 8-year-old son walk half a mile home in their extraordinarily safe, quiet Waco suburb.

I wrote about her story here, when it happened. It shows how crazy our country can sometimes be when an onlooker thinks all unsupervised kids are automatically in danger, no matter WHAT the actual circumstances. And what can happen when the cops agree!

I love this Stossel piece – with three asterisks:

* This kind of situation – a kid outside, a mom handcuffed for it — is still rare enough that it makes news. Yes, we are trying to change the laws, so this NEVER happens, but it is NOT common. And, of course, the more kids play outside again, the more seeing a kid outside becomes normalized! So, get mad…but don’t get scared. I know of NO kids removed from their families because they were allowed to walk or play outside.

* The piece does not mention Let Grow! Yet we are tirelessly working to change the culture that underestimates kids and overestimates danger. I wrote Free-Range Kids in 2009 (second edition 2021) and co-founded Let Grow seven years ago along with Daniel Shuchman, Peter Gray, and Jonathan Haidt – author of The Anxious Generation. I am the president of Let Grow. Let Grow! Let Grow! Let Grow!   

* Texas is a state where Let Grow helped change the Child Protective Services law (so Heather’s kids could not be taken away) but has not yet changed the Criminal Law (which is why she could be arrested). Please click here to find out your local laws and how to work with us to change them if need be!

Let freedom ring!