By Emily Spence of sweetnsourmom.com
This just in! A 5-year-old girl, living outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, went outside to play, in front of her house, alone, and was OK.
It was reported that the little girl took her scooter and rode around out front for about an hour.
One neighbor, Jane Lewis, reported, “I watched the little girl from my window with a sense of foreboding the entire time. I was waiting. Waiting for the doom that awaited her. She looked like she was having a great time, but I knew she must have been putting on a brave show. I mean, what kid goes outside to play without a parent hovering nearby and actually has fun?! When I saw her go back inside, free of danger, I was flabbergasted! I called another neighbor to discuss the event. She quickly called the local news station.”
That neighbor, Elizabeth Jones, explained her reaction and why she called Channel 11 News. “After my neighbor, Jane, notified me about the 5-year-old playing outside without supervision… and SURVIVING!… I was shocked. Has this ever happened before? Yeah, sure, back when kids were kids in the 80s, but not today. This world is CRAZY. What would she have done if she had fallen without a parent to try to catch her first? Could she have just dusted off her pants and tried again? What if someone attempted to abduct her? What if a rabid animal crossed her path? What if she started to get cold? The list of things that could have happened to her are endless.”
Since this first broke, we learned that the police did come to interview the parents, but no charges were made. The parents did not want to be interviewed but did say that they will continue to allow their children to play unsupervised, much to the outrage of the community.
They’re even planning on taking their 13-year-old daughter to the movie theater next weekend and dropping her off, along with her two friends. Neither parent will stay to watch, even from a few rows back. They also won’t be staying on the premises. They.Will.Be.Leaving.Their.Teen.Until.The.Movie.Concludes.
The whole neighborhood is incredulous over this family and their “bad parenting decisions.” A petition, “Bring Legal Action Against the Absent Helicopter Parents,” has started to make its rounds on Facebook.
Despite the neighbors’ negative views and judgmental stares, many others have reached out to this family and offered support. Two groups, “Proud Parents of Free-Range Kids” and “Helicopters are Meant to Fly Above the Ground.. Not Our Kids,” have come forward to cheer on and encourage the family.
Thomas Boyd, spokesman for PPOFRK, says that the group will be publishing an article of the young girl’s incredible feat that will be simply titled, “SURVIVOR.” Thomas explains, “Our group heard about this girl’s miraculous survival story and knew we had to get her face out there. All alone… No supervision… It’s amazing.”
Mr. Boyd encourages other parents with similar stories of perseverance to come forward. “We need more people talking about this. The whole country will start to take notice if parents stand up proudly behind their free-range kids, shouting from the mountaintops, ‘YES! MY KID WENT OUTSIDE TO PLAY WITHOUT ME AND MADE IT THROUGH!'”
If others out there want to share their own kid’s independent escapades, you can call (800) FRE-EKID.
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About the Author
Once a middle school teacher, Emily Spence is now a SAHM, diffusing meltdowns, changing diapers, and secretly eating forbidden foods from behind locked doors. She lives outside of Baltimore MD with her husband, two girls, and an obnoxious Westie. You can read more at www.sweetnsourmom.com. She’s also on Facebook and Twitter.