Would You Leave Your Kids At The Park Alone?
If you have ever wondered what would be a good way to peel your child from a video game or computer screen, Lenore Skenazy may have the answer for you. Skenazy recently declared May 22nd “Take Your Kids To The Park and Leave Them There Day”, in an effort to get kids active and teach them to be independent at the same time.
You may remember hearing about Skenazy, a former columnist for the New York Sun, a couple of years ago when she wrote an article about how she left her then 10-year-old son in Bloomingdales with a subway and bus map and allowed him to find his own way home. There was mixed reactions from readers of her column. Some thought Skenazy was doing a good thing for her son, teaching him some independence and letting him know that she trusts him. But others thought what Skenazy did was irresponsible and put her son in great danger.
Skenazy’s new campaign is for parents of children age 7 and up to allow their children to play at the park without any parental supervision for about 15 minutes to start. Skenazy believes children do not have as much freedom as they used to and as a result will find it difficult to take care of themselves when the time comes. She also thinks that many parents today needlessly hover over their children, not allowing them to form connections with other children on their own or figure things out for themselves.
One of the biggest concerns parents face is the possibility that someone will take or hurt their child if they leave them alone for even a minute. Though we hear of harm being done to children on the news every night, Skenazy argues that child abduction is actually very rare and children are much more likely to be abused by people they know and live with.
What do you think of Skenazy idea to leave your child at the park?
Is this something you would consider doing?
Make a Comment
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trentjoy | Indianapolis, INI agree with most here that say that they would not leave children alone, and I have been one that coddled my children to death early on. I do think that 7 is too young to be completely alone. But I also see the other side now that my children are pre-teens and say that sometimes you have to step back and allow the children to have some freedom so that when they are on there own they don't go crazy stupid! I say you can always sometimes be off to the sidelines so they are not REALLY alone and they feel trusted and empowered to make decisions on their own. It is all about moderation; One extreme of one side or another of anything is never any good.
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MyEmptyCanvas | KOSCIUSKO, MSNope, I could never leave a child alone @ the park, on a subway, nothing of the sort. That'd be irresponsible even if "kidnapping is rare" in her eyes... it's still a possibility, among other things.
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joy9281 | TOLEDO, OHThere are too many weirdos out there to be leaving your children unattended espescially in a place like a park!
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LuckyMommaJ | SEQUIM, WAIf a child is not old enough to legally babysit (which is 12 years old in the state of WA) then I don't think they should be left alone. It is just dangerous. They need to be mature enough to make decisions about what to do if they get hurt, someone is following them, they witness a crime, etc. It's one thing to let them play outside your own home, but to leave them somewhere unfamiliar and more than a yelled "MOM!" away is bad parenting.
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mchavezrey | Denver, CONo way!! I love my children and would never give someone out there the opportunity to harm them. This has nothing to do with "giving them more freedom" for for their safety!!
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butterflytouch | Burley, IDNever in a million years would I even think about doing that. The old days are over when you could do something like that.
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happytobeamom | FREDERICA, DEAbsolutely Not! There are too many "child molesters" and "pedofiles" out there nowadays and you just don't know who you can trust. All it takes is one split second too. Never would I leave them my children alone.
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basilandcatnip | GARLAND, TXNo.
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mardel | SCHAUMBURG, ILNEVER!!! The way things are in this society I wouldn't leave my kids at a park alone! If you want to show your kid how to be independent there are other safe ways to do it!! Parents should be more responsible and aware that we don't live in safe times anymore!
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magpie75 | Fullerton, CAJust to say devils advocate I have to say maybe. Depending on my kid and how old he is. I would never leave him by himself, but with other kids in a safe park that I was in a different area of, I might consider it. If he were say 10 or so and with responsible kids and if he is a responsible child. Otherwise no.
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twilliams82 | Dandridge, TNI would not leave my child alone in a park for 15 seconds and definitely not 15 minutes! In the world we live in anything can happen and it only takes a split second for it to happen. There are many other ways to teach your children life skills without putting their lives in danger!
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kimberleentx | Houston, TXNot a way in the world i would do that. I grew up in a small town but there was always danger of kidnappings or worse. I live in a big city now and wouldnt let my kids play in the front yard unsupervised let alone at a park or a subway.
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Peachrose | SAN DIEGO, CAAbsolutely not. You never know who could be lurking around.
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CPevey | White Hall, ARNo I would not leave my children in the park alone. Right now they are 3 and 1 years old. But even when they get older - it's not safe. Even grown women get kidnapped and it happens everyday. You can teach them survival things and ways to be responsible without leaving them alone. I just wouldn't do it. You can't trust anyone these days. We have a park that's been on our local news that have regular stings to catch people doing "inappropriate" things - they go there to watch little kids and get off on that. NO WAY would I leave my kids alone anywhere. The world we live in gets worse everyday. More and more predators. I myself could not and would leave my children or anyone elses children alone.
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hellokitee | la mirada, CANO WAY! I would never leave my kids at any park alone! not even if it was down the street. depending on the age and how mature the child or children are. Its never a good idea, no matter how bad you trust your kids, anyone can just take them away or pull out a gun and if they are gone its possible that you may never know what really happened.
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