Parents Who Let Kids Walk Home Alone Face Inquiry

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Would you allow your 10- and 6-year-old children to walk home -- without you -- along a busy street from a park that’s about a mile away?

Do you think parents who do so – who have taught their kids about their neighborhood and safety – should be threatened with losing custody of those children?

It’s a debate raging not only in Montgomery County, but across the country thanks to an avalanche of comments on social media.

»Read: Mom’s Plea: Please Don’t Help My Kids

At the center of the storm is Danielle and Alexander Meitiv of Silver Spring, who are under investigation by Montgomery County Child Protective Services for letting their children walk home along Georgia Avenue from a park. The Washington Post reports a passerby spotted their children, Rafi, 10, and younger sister Dvora, 6, and called police.

»Do you think children younger than teenagers are safe on their own in public? At what point should authorities step in? Tell us in comments below.

A police officer asked the children what they were doing, to which Rafi replied, walking home from the park. The officer than went to the Meitivs’ house to talk with the parents, who are amazed that their efforts to give their children independence has landed them in legal trouble, and at the crossroads of a national debate over parenting styles.

They advocate what has been dubbed free-range parenting. The website Free-Range Kids, started by Lenore Skenazy, says that in these overprotective times, kids don’t learn independence as parents are bombarded with media stories of child abductions.

Skenazy’s website says, “Free-Range Kids are sort of old-fashioned. They’re kids who are expected to want to grow up and do things on their own. And then, when they show us they’re ready, we allow ‘em to.”

Rafi Meitiv told the Post that he asked his parents if he and his sister could be dropped off at the park so they could play a bit longer and then come home.

Authorities are investigating the Meitivs for neglect. Maryland law prohibits children under the age of eight from being unattended in a dwelling or car, but makes no reference to the outdoors, reports WUSA TV.

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While the Meitivs initially balked at signing a safety plan drafted by Child Protective Services, they agreed to the proposal after they were threatened with losing custody of their children.

“I think what CPS considered neglect, we felt was an essential part of growing up and maturing,” Alexander Meitiv told the Washington Post. “We feel we’re being bullied into a point of view about child-rearing that we strongly disagree with.”

“I grew up in New York City in the ‘70s and nobody hesitated to let their kids walk around. The only thing that’s changed between then and now is our fear,” Danielle Meitiv told WUSA TV.

The couple says county workers tried to frighten the children, who have been schooled in how to safely cross streets, and stay together when outside of their house.

In response to the investigation into the Meitiv family, the Maryland Coalition to Empower Kids has organized to push for changes in the law. The group’s website says cases of child abduction, abuse and murder are far lower today than for the previous generation.

The group’s position is “We believe that in order to teach kids to assess risk, they must be given opportunities to do so. We trust our kids to make good decisions with the proper preparation and guidance, and we believe they are capable of developing sound judgement.”

»Read more about this story at The Washington Post website.

»PHOTOS: Screenshots from Danielle Meitiv’s public Facebook page of the family, and their children, Rafi, 10, and Dvora, 6.

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