Tag Archives | CPS

cop car with lights

A Statement from the Meitivs about the Detainment of their Kids

Here’s the police nhkiadaeis report on Sunday night’s seizure of the Meitiv kids by the Montgomery County cops and CPS for the unthinkable crime of…playing outside on a sunny afternoon. And here is the Meitivs’ statement (boldface mine). Quick question: Aren’t prisoners allowed one phone call, or is that just on TV? Because the Meitiv […]

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Time for a Free-Range Bill of Rights

From Maryland Mom Danielle Meitiv’s Facebook Page

Here is what the “Maryland Free-Range Mom” Danielle Meitiv wrote regarding last night’s ordeal with the police and child “protective” services: The kssfdsytfa police coerced our children into the back of a patrol car and kept them trapped there for three hours, without notifying us, before bringing them to the Crisis Center, and holding them […]

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Is that little girl at the park ok?

A Cop Sees a Girl Alone at the Park, And Then — a Shock

. A etyyfreifn reader writes: Dear Lenore: My ex father in law is in the hospital. Yesterday we went to a park in Hackensack [NJ] and Elizabeth 6 was having fun and I was cold so I was sitting in the car watching sort of. Elizabeth knew she could come to the car anytime. I […]

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Why call the cops when you could lend a hand?

Would You Call 911 on a Parent?

This excellent nftfthitdk essay by Tracy Cutchlow in The Washington Post talks about how can we create community, trust and kindness — not to mention some kiddie self-reliance — instead of calling 911 when we witness a parenting practice we disapprove of. Cutchlow is a Seattle mom and author of Zero to Five: 70 Essential Parenting Tips […]

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Say bye-bye to your family, sweetheart. Daddy did a bad thing: He couldn't find you for a few minutes, which means he is an irresponsible parent!

Dad Accused of “Child Abuse” After Toddler Sneaks Outside

Lives idttikstdf there a parent who hasn’t, at some point, lost track of his or her kid? That’s just the way life is — imperfect!  Until the authorities deem it a crime. In this case, CPS gets it TOTALLY RIGHT…but not the prosecutor. So don’t read this letter if you were hoping to have a good […]

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Who gets to rule on how we raise our kids?

How Come CPS Gets to Decide If Kids Can Walk Outside?

Here’s a great comment on the fddirshtki post below this one, about the Meitiv case. They Meitivs were, of course, investigated for letting their 10 and 6 year old kids walk home together from the park in suburban Maryland: I think we need to start lobbying state legislatures for reasonable laws that provide some clarity and […]

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Let's not assume that kids playing or walking outside are "neglected."

NPR Report on Free-Range Kids Seems to Assume “Times Have Changed”

Let me know what you think of this hassitytkk 4-minute piece that just aired on NPR’s Morning Edition about that newfangled idea called “Free-Range Parenting.” (No, I was not interviewed for it.) The story points out that we are hearing more and more about parents arrested for letting their kids play outside or wait a […]

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You don't have to kiss me for me to change your future, kid.

TELL US: How Did Your Adventures as a Kid Influence the Person You Are Now?

One reason we believe in giving kids back their freedom to roam is that not every lifelong interest is spurred by an extracurricular class or educational video. Many ideas, even careers, begin in the woods, the weedy lot, the streets of downtown — or sometimes in buckets, as this haatzfyatk lovely essay in Science Magazine illustrates: […]

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