Georgia mom charged after [11 y.o.] son walks alone less than a mile from home

I grew up in the 50's and 60's in NYC, at 11 we rode the subways into Manhattan went to coney island and in the summer went to the beach daily (a few blocks away),rode our bikes on the 11 mile boardwalk , went fishing in the bay ,walked or took a bus a mille to the movies, all unaccompanied ,but that was then not the world it is today.
 
Guno צְבִי said:
I grew up in the 50's and 60's in NYC, at 11 we rode the subways into Manhattan went to coney island and in the summer went to the beach daily (a few blocks away),rode our bikes on the 11 mile boardwalk , went fishing in the bay ,walked or took a bus a mille to the movies, all unaccompanied ,but that was then not the world it is today.
Click to expand...
I wasn’t alive in the ‘60’s so I can’t speak to what it was like living in NYC. But from what i’ve read it wasn’t exactly a crime free sanctuary.

And it’s interesting when we get into debates about crime people speak to how much better it is today (less crime) yet it’s somehow unsafe for our kids to basically leave their parents vision at almost any time?

How does that work?
 
cawacko said:
Seems like that's a win-win scenario to the extent you have eyes on him yet he has the feeling of empowerment.

My wife and I really get into about allowing our 8 year old daughter to walk 2 1/2 blocks to a local park (where other kids play). I'm fine with it and she's not. While we are in a well to do neighborhood you still have the crazies around at the park.

Giving your kid freedom isn't without risk but to me it's preparing her to be stronger for the future. I hadn't really thought of this but It's certainly possible Guno isn't the only one to think of me as a hick for being ok with her walking to the park (and playing) on her own. But to each his own.
Click to expand...
With an 8 year old girl you are braver than me. I'd have to have eyes on her to there and while she is at the park. Maybe I'd do it without her knowing I was watching though. Your wife gets my vote on this one. :dunno: If she was 10 I'd let her do it though.
 
cawacko said:
I wasn’t alive in the ‘60’s so I can’t speak to what it was like living in NYC. But from what i’ve read it wasn’t exactly a crime free sanctuary.

And it’s interesting when we get into debates about crime people speak to how much better it is today (less crime) yet it’s somehow unsafe for our kids to basically leave their parents vision at almost any time?

How does that work?
Click to expand...
I think we hear more about it because of the way the news works today. I suspect it happened about the same frequency but we heard about it less.
 
ExpressLane said:
With an 8 year old girl you are braver than me. I'd have to have eyes on her to there and while she is at the park. Maybe I'd do it without her knowing I was watching though. Your wife gets my vote on this one. :dunno: If she was 10 I'd let her do it though.
Click to expand...
I respect that. To me it’s empowering her with decision-making ability and leadership. My wife is ‘winning’ at the moment, but after seeing the book, she’s changing her tune as well.
 
ExpressLane said:
I think we hear more about it because of the way the news works today. I suspect it happened about the same frequency but we heard about it less.
Click to expand...
My sister has three kids between eighth and 11th grade. They all have phones and she can track where they are 24/7. And my understanding is that’s basically the norm for all parents and teenagers.

What you say makes sense about the reporting of crime. It’s not simply coincidence to the extent that we helicopter parent and kids have mental health issues they do now.
 
cawacko said:
I wasn’t alive in the ‘60’s so I can’t speak to what it was like living in NYC. But from what i’ve read it wasn’t exactly a crime free sanctuary.

And it’s interesting when we get into debates about crime people speak to how much better it is today (less crime) yet it’s somehow unsafe for our kids to basically leave their parents vision at almost any time?

How does that work?
Click to expand...
Flyover country people always bought into NYC was a hellscape ,I never got robbed mugged etc unless it was christer kids chasing us Jewish kids for killing their dead man god. NYC had/has over 8 million people , crime sells.. In the late 60's the south Bronx was in the national news and the rubes nationwide projected it on the entire city
 
Guno צְבִי said:
Flyover country people always bought into NYC was a hellscape ,I never got robbed mugged etc unless it was christer kids chasing us Jewish kids for killing their dead man god. NYC had/has over 8 million people , crime sells.. In the late 60's the south Bronx was in the national news and the rubes nationwide projected it on the entire city
Click to expand...
Are kids getting robbed, mugged, kidnapped every time they leave the house in Cities/towns across America today? Is America this huge crime sh*thole? Is New York City is a big crime ridden sh*thole today compared to the '50's and '60's? Not trying to put words into your mouth but isn't that what you're arguing here by saying only a hick would allow their kid to leave their sight?
 
cawacko said:
Are kids getting robbed, mugged, kidnapped every time they leave the house in Cities/towns across America today? Is America this huge crime sh*thole? Is New York City is a big crime ridden sh*thole today compared to the '50's and '60's? Not trying to put words into your mouth but isn't that what you're arguing here by saying only a hick would allow their kid to leave their sight?
Click to expand...
Nowhere is like the 50's and early 60's, for you the discussion is just academic exercise growing up as a self entitled white xtian
 
Guno צְבִי said:
Nowhere is like the 50's and early 60's, for you the discussion is just academic exercise growing up as a self entitled white xtian
Click to expand...
I'm not following. The whole debate over the benefits of free play is simply an academic one and not based in real world reality?

I'm mean yes, if one lives in a crime ridden area where gangs dominate and drive by shootings are frequent occurrences then it's understandable one wouldn't want their children playing out in the streets or wandering far off. But that's not the reality for large numbers of kids (of all races and religions). So I'm not sure what being a Christian (or even entitled) has to do with this.
 
We were walking 5 miles to the lake and back, carrying rifles and stopping at the convenience store for RC's, red skin peanuts, and boxes of ammo on the way when we were 9 or 10. Stayed til dark and walked back home. When we weren't shooting we were fishing or swimming.
 
ExpressLane said:

Georgia mom charged after son walks alone less than a mile from home​


A mom in Georgia is facing possible jail time after her 10-year-old (almost 11) son was found walking alone to town, less than a mile from the family’s home.


Brittany Patterson, 41, was arrested on suspicion of reckless conduct on Oct. 30 over her son's unsupervised walk, according to the Fannin County Sheriff's Office.

Patterson had taken another son to a doctor’s appointment when she left her son Soren, now 11, alone at their home in the rural town of Mineral Bluff, NBC News reported. After someone reported Soren’s wandering, deputies located him and drove him home.

"It's not a super dangerous or even dangerous-at-all stretch of road," Patterson told the outlet. "I wasn't terrified for him or scared for his safety."


Mugshot of Brittany Patterson.

Brittany Patterson, 41, was arrested after her son was found walking alone less than one mile from home in their rural town of Mineral Bluff, Georgia. (Fannin County Sheriffs Office)

SPONSORED by Brookdale Senior Living
The Path to Caregiver
As parents age, there will likely come a time when they need more help. Start planning for what caregiving might look like before it’s needed.
Learn more
OBA_TRANS.png

Still, deputies returned to the home later and placed Patterson under arrest.

In bodycam footage obtained by ABC News, deputies could be heard telling Patterson she is under arrest for reckless endangerment.

Brittany Patterson and deputy

Brittany Patterson, 41, was arrested after it was reported to deputies that her son, who was 10 at the time, was walking alone less than a mile from the family's home. (Fannin County Sheriffs Office)
"And how was I recklessly endangering my child?" Patterson asked.

Another deputy responded, "We're not talking about it," before handcuffing the mom.


Patterson and her lawyer said that authorities offered to drop the charge if she signed a safety plan that included using a GPS tracker on her son’s phone.

The mom said she is refusing to sign the plan and will fight the charge.

"I just felt like I couldn't sign that and that in doing so, would be agreeing that there was something unsafe about my home or something unsafe about my parental decisions and I just don't believe that," the mom told ABC News....
====================================

Who thinks this is governmental overreach? And how many parents do you think they arrested the NEXT DAY for Trick or Treating? This kid was less than a mile from home. When you were a kid did you ever walk unaccompanied less than a mile from home at age 10-11? I used to walk that far to school almost everyday.
Click to expand...
Georgia is a Red State.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top