• CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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    20 hours ago

    When I first read about some parents allowing their kids to be “free range”, I had a hard time wrapping my brain around the amount of harassment they were getting, because being “free range” in the mid-00s sounded like what nearly all prior generations (older Gen Y and older) operated under as kids, but just now some kind of anomaly instead of the bog-standard norm.

    As someone that is Gen X and grew up in a very rural area, and who spent most of their free (summer/weekend) days almost completely unsupervised, starting somewhere around 8 years old, I find it wild that the cops are now called on seeing such things…I realize things change - I’d say it’s generally for the better these days, TBH. The views on safety back then for everyone, including children, were pretty much shit.

    But still, you think there should be some kind of balance…

    • lightnsfw@reddthat.com
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      18 hours ago

      I think the balance is instead of being a fucking busybody calling the cops, just keep an eye on them and make sure they’re okay and not causing trouble. If they’re good it’s all good and they gain valuable life experience being independent. If not then there’s an adult on hand to assist. Kids can’t learn to handle themselves if there’s always an adult hanging over their shoulder to step in over every little thing.

    • CharlesDarwin@lemmy.world
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      21 hours ago

      That platform seems designed for Karens. I signed up for that to try to offload some stuff I wanted to give away and JFC, I’ve never seen so many busybodies in my life.

      Just a constant stream of people bitching about what the kids are up to these days (seems like 90% of the content). I only stay because I may need to find plumbers, contractors, etc., and want to see who/what is recommended.

      But all the rest of the noise on there, holy shit. I’m not sure if there was ever a time when it wasn’t like that. I can remember a time when FB was not horrible, but maybe Nextdoor started in an enshittified state.

      • cantstopthesignal@sh.itjust.works
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        18 hours ago

        Hey now it’s not just Karens, there’s also the racists, and sometimes a racist Karen. Seriously though, have you ever talked to your neighbors or tried being friendly. Like 10%-20% of them are awful and miserable, so that’s what you get when you build a product that lets you talk to your neighbors.

  • abbiistabbii@piefed.blahaj.zone
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    2 days ago

    This is the fourth time I’ve read a story about kids being arrested for being outside.

    America really is a country where you were not allowed to be outside unless you’re in a car.

    • ZombiFrancis@sh.itjust.works
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      21 hours ago

      America really is a country where you were not allowed to be outside unless you’re in a car.

      Everywhere is someone’s private property. Trespassers are under threat of being shot at all times all over the country.

    • TransNeko@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      don’t worry… it will get better soon enough… in a bit they will start arresting parents for driving with kids in the car.

      • JamesBoeing737MAX@sopuli.xyz
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        They do, they just don’t arrest the ones that matter yet.

        Europeans, don’t worry, this is also coming to your neoliberal capitalist country. There are already many people who want their own version of ICE in their country (even while knowing such orgs already exist) - yes, I know them personally. Most people are stupid enough to hate minorities (because oh no, the Wikipedia about them includes words I don’t understand(they are the target audience for the simple Wikipedia)), which just empowers their glorious leaders even more.

        If you aren’t profitable enough a risk of resistance (minorities who can afford education are more often educated than the “Aryan race”), you are getting jailed (and optionally murdered). “But socialism has gulags.” - Yes, you do too and it’s worse.

    • Spooge@lemmy.world
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      America really is a country where you were not allowed to be outside unless you’re in a car.

      That’s the most dramatic, basement dweller take I’ve ever heard. There’s all sorts of outdoor places and activities that are government run in the US. State and local parks and recreation programs can be absolutely amazing in this country. This story is not the norm in any sense. There’s plenty of amazing things to do and places to go outside in the US. Knock off the melodrama.

      • abbiistabbii@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        19 hours ago

        …but not your own street, and most cities are or were (re)designed to make walking as unpleasant and difficult as possible.

        But it’s OK because there’s national parks you can drive to. Sure, you might not be able to talk to the shops, do you can walk in these special, government approved areas.

        I get the feeling that the fact I walked to my local cafe for a Frappe would blow your mind.

        • Spooge@lemmy.world
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          19 hours ago

          …but not your own street,

          Ugh…yeah. My street connects to a state park. There’s also a school playground down the street the other way. I can walk to 3 grocery stores and ride my bike to any fast food you could think of. There’s always many bikeable bars and restaurants. Your internet derived views on the “anti-car” sentiment is not my reailty, sorry.

  • HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Liability Hot Potato

    1. Caller doesn’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    2. Call-taker doesn’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    3. Comm. Center supervisor doesn’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    4. Dispatcher doesn’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    5. Patrol supervisor doesn’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    6. Patrol LEOs don’t want to accept liability just in case Something Happens to the kids.

    The end product of this bureaucratic nightmare is harassment-by-proxy, where the cops show up to tell a lady kids aren’t supposed to play outside and everyone gets to go home not feeling like they were responsible for the insanity.

    - Ex-cop, occasionally insisted on not responding to ridiculous calls that got cancelled when I pressed the issue, was eventually fired

    • topperharlie@lemmy.world
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      How is it liability for people minding their fucking business and not calling the cops when seeing other’s people children playing? Like is USA so dystopian that you need a permit to let your kids play so you can prove it to random strangers so they don’t call the police? The rest of the chain I could understand, but the neighbour calling the fucking police for no reason at all without any consequences is bonkers to me.

      I’m European and lived in 2 countries here, and in both the caller would be in trouble for making weird and unnecessary calls to the police, apart from being seen as a weirdo by everyone. Like, how much are you spying on kids playing (or anyone else for that matter) to determine that they are in danger? how paranoid are you that you perceive normal behaviour as dangerous? maybe you are the danger to those kids and society if you are really looking that hard and being so paranoid. Also, mind your fucking business, go back to watching fox news and stop looking through the window. These people being tolerated (or encouraged) without any consequences is bonkers to me, at the very least they should be shamed or even billed if repeatedly done.

      • HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world
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        22 hours ago

        I can’t tell if you’re angrily asking me or angrily asking them.

        Seems fairly obvious to me, but I’ll break down what I suspect their thoughts are for #1:

        “Oh I couldn’t let something happen to little Timmy! What if he hurt himself or got kidnapped?”

        • topperharlie@lemmy.world
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          21 hours ago

          Sorry sounded that way, where I’m from we use swear words often to emphasize ideas, but not because we are angry just for emphasis, many times I forget in some places swear words are only “angry words” and they carry way more weight.

          My surprise was regarding a society that is so comfortable calling police on neighbours for reasons it doesn’t make sense, like, children playing outside could feel “dangerous” to you (as in the reporter) but it shouldn’t condition how the parent raise their children if they think is safe. It feels to me so weird that: people impose their morals/values to others and they don’t go and talk with the parents first instead of calling the police.

          • HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world
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            20 hours ago

            Sorry sounded that way, where I’m from we use swear words often to emphasize ideas, but not because we are angry just for emphasis, many times I forget in some places swear words are only “angry words” and they carry way more weight.

            That’s more or less the same in my area, but you have to remember that text does not convey tone, so your comment could have been read either way; I’ve had plenty of people across the internet mistake my “So-and-So does X because Y” as defending So-and-So.

            My surprise was regarding a society that is so comfortable calling police on neighbours for reasons it doesn’t make sense, like, children playing outside could feel “dangerous” to you (as in the reporter) but it shouldn’t condition how the parent raise their children if they think is safe. It feels to me so weird that: people impose their morals/values to others and they don’t go and talk with the parents first instead of calling the police.

            Maybe it’s just in my city/state/country, but usually if you go politely confront someone in a way that could come across as judgement, they will double-down and get verbally or physically hostile.

            So people don’t bother, and call in the Professional Confronters. There’s no penalty for being incorrect when calling the police, so it’s a no-brainer for many.

      • TransNeko@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        or the good ones get killed by their coworkers (and then someone minority or lgbtq+ person gets framed for the murder).

      • HCSOThrowaway@lemmy.world
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        5 seconds before a good one gets fired, they’re a bastard? What about 5 days? 5 months?

        What about someone with all the good intent in their heart 5 minutes before they put on a badge? The second it touches their uniform they instantly become a bastard?

        Your ridiculous position melts the second you think about it critically.

  • Archr@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    The combination of not giving kids independence then complaining how teens and young adults are dependant on their parents is diabolical.

    I often look at the independence that kids and teens are given in other countries and wish that I could have been given that sort of a childhood. I seriously think I wouldn’t be as socially inept as I am today if I had that.

      • Archr@lemmy.world
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        14 hours ago

        There are plenty of parents that just kick out their kids and drop all support the day they turn 18. It is truly horrific how cruel they are.

    • mirshafie@europe.pub
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      2 days ago

      You can still learn though. It’s always awkward in the beginning but adults learn faster than kids.

      • hereiamagain@sh.itjust.works
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        2 days ago

        Not sure why you’re getting downvoted.

        Life sucks, we’re all screwed up in some way or another. But just saying “well that’s how I am now” is the standard approach these days, and it only perpetuates the problem.

        • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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          Not sure why you’re getting downvoted.

          Because the most rapid rate of learning is in early childhood. For example, toddlers acquire over 50% of an entire language in a couple of years. That learning rate declines through early adulthood, then remains roughly constant unless the adult experiences dementia in later life, which most don’t.

          • mirshafie@europe.pub
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            1 day ago

            Kids learn all of that while being completely immersed in the new environment. I challenge you to move to a different country right now and immerse yourself in the culture. I bet you in three (3) years you’ll have a far superior command of that language than a 6 year old that was born in that country.

  • LordCrom@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    In the 70s, every kid in the he area knew every other kid. The mother’s all knew each other or at least had phone numbers. Weekends and summers we would go play all day, sometimes in 1 house. The whole neighborhood looked out for all of us. If a mother needed to find a kid, just start calling the list of mothers. Regardless,when the streetlights came on, that was the signal to go home.

    No one questioned it. That’s the way it was. We would play football in the streets and move aside for cars. We would drink from the garden hose. Every kid played… There was even one kid missing a leg who used a fake limb, we let him at football with the rest of us (granted he played line), but he was one of us.

    Miss those days

    • fishy@lemmy.today
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      2 days ago

      I grew up in the 90’s and it was mostly the same. Leave home at like 9am to just go start knocking on friends doors to see who was available. Get a group together for some tag or ballgame if the weather was good, stay inside and play with toys if the weather was bad. Rule was to call home by 5 so my mom would know if she should prepare dinner for us or not.

      • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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        1 day ago

        Our rule with my semi-feral kids was that they had to be home once the streetlights came on. If they couldn’t see streetlights, before dark.

        We lived in a town of 10,000 next to a large nature reserve, so the only things to worry about were mountain lions and people. As long as the kids were in groups, neither was a significant risk, especially the mountain lions, which generally avoid humans. In 15 years living in that place, I only saw one twice, when I was sitting quietly, far up a mountain. As for the people, the kids were distrustful of strange adults and there were few places along the narrow streets where cars could be driven fast.

        And, despite all the tutting from a few neurotic neighbors, the kids all survived and are now self-sufficient adults.

    • leadore@lemmy.world
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      1 day ago

      Same. We were out all day, no one knew where we were. No cell phones. Go home by dark for supper.

  • Suavevillain@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    There are really no spaces for kids or teens do anything anymore which is crazy. Then if they are playing outside it is also an issue.

    • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
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      Much like the rest of society, the only reason to leave the house must involve spending money. Otherwise, you’re just tricking poor billionaires and business owners by getting their hopes up and making them treat you nice, without adequate financial compensation.

  • Waldelfe@feddit.org
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    2 days ago

    There was a documentary a few years ago about a German correspondent in the US. She let her teenage kids have the same freedoms as in Germany: roam the neighborhood, bike to school etc. The neighbors called CPS on her when the kids were in the street and the school talked to her that her kids weren’t allowed to come by themselves, she HAD to drive them.

    • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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      Which is wild, cause when I was in elementary school, I would walk/ride a bike like 5 miles to school, and the school had a massive bike lockup because so many others did the same as well.

      Crazy how we’ve gone from “Get the hell out of the house and don’t come back till the street lights come on” to “OH MY GOD, CHILDREN ARE IN PUBLIC. CALL THE POLICE! CALL THE NATIONAL GUARD! CALL ANYBODY!!!111!”

      • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        Well we can’t actually do anything to stop the literal blood-drinking pedophiles who run this country, so instead we try to make sure children are never seen outside. It’s the next best thing.

        • KelvarCherry [They/Them]@piefed.blahaj.zone
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          implying that it isn’t the blood-drinking pedophiles who want the children locked up at home; so they stay numb and isolated and grow up to be adults making money for the pedos.

          They don’t want to rape all kids (not physically or sexually, anyways). Of course, they all want to rape kids.

      • forkDestroyer@infosec.pub
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        2 days ago

        Crazy how we’ve gone from “Get the hell out of the house and don’t come back till the street lights come on” to “OH MY GOD, CHILDREN ARE IN PUBLIC. CALL THE POLICE! CALL THE NATIONAL GUARD! CALL ANYBODY!!!111!”

        I daresay it’s because of the kids in that first scenario growing up and remembering what they witnessed while they were out on their own. Not all of them, of course.

        • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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          2 days ago

          I wont deny that there may be people out there who are a definite fit for your scenario…

          But generally speaking, I think its more encouraged addiction to technology. I see it so often, in my own family and elsewhere, where whenever children start needing attention… the response isnt to give them attention, its to shove a phone/tablet in their hands and shooing them off to a corner to sit down and occupy themselves.

          while back in the day, parents did give their kids attention. Still encouraged them to go outside and shit, but kids did get attention. They did raise their kids.

          Today its Cellphones/Tablets raising kids.

    • froh42@lemmy.world
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      Heh. Here in Germany schools are really trying hard NOT to have “parent-taxis” bring their kids to school by car, as that causes a lot of traffic in front of the schools - and endangers those kids that walk on their own or ride their bikes.

      Typically stopping in front of schools is frowned and where possible they try to remove stopping places right in front of the front door (e. g. by making them “school bus only”)

      My daughter (adult now) was walking 70m to Kindergarten (crossing a street which we trained a gazillion times with her) on her own from a few weeks before her fourth birthday. (Yes that was unusual, too, but we lived practically next door and she was so proud and happy about the trust we put into her).

      In the US we would probably have gone to jail for that.

      The same just for sending out the kids to play outside in the traffic-free block where we lived at that time. “Go outside” was something we told them to do.

      • WanakaTree@lemmy.zip
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        2 days ago

        Im in the US and live literally across the street from my kids school. He starts kindergarten in August and I told some neighborhood parent friends I was going to just let him walk himself to school while I watched from the stoop sipping coffee. A lot of them were mortified and a few thought the school wouldn’t allow him in without me dropping him off. Wtf

      • sem@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        I’m in the US, kids regularly walk or bike around the neighborhood on their own, or go to school or the bus stop on their own.

        There are crazy and weird places in the US, but there are also normal places.

        Please extend us your hope that we can get out from under this fascist state government.

    • RBWells@lemmy.world
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      Where I live, younger kids (can) walk if closer than 2 miles AND not crossing any large roads. But if they can’t walk the school system provides busing. Lots of kids get dropped off by car anyway because parents are driving to work, I have made that loop for mine some years. But there isn’t a situation where car riding is required for public school (except for school choice schools, if there is room you can put them in a not neighborhood school, like if you work across town and want them close to your work not your house) - school won’t bus them there - for magnet schools like performing arts they do have a school bus system to get them farther. My high schoolers (teenagers) took the city bus.

      Schools do sort the kids at dismissal, into a bus group, a car group, and walkers, in the elementary/primary school, and all of them have to have someone adult or close to it come for them, they can’t just wander home like I could.

    • Amberskin@europe.pub
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      2 days ago

      I walked to school by myself since I was 10. I rode a bus to school by myself when I was in middle and high. Everyday I find scores of kids riding the same bus I use to go to work.

      I live in Spain, by the way, in one major city. Never happened anything bad to me (except missing the bus and having to wait for the next one, or having to stand when the bus was full).

    • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
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      Some school’s insurance policies prohibit kids from arriving in any way other than by parent’s car or school bus.

      • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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        15 hours ago

        That’s not something I’ve ever heard of. Here, if you live within a couple miles of the (middle or high) school, there aren’t busses available. We live next to an elementary school and I see kids walking by themselves every single day.

      • OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml
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        This makes no sense. Why would a school’s insurance policy cover kids outside of school (excluding the bus which might still be school jurisdiction)?

        And if insurance doesn’t cover them anyway, it shouldn’t care what they do.

        • Talcosis@lemmy.zip
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          I think the policy covers payouts for kids getting hit by cars between entering school property and walking into the building? That’s the only thing that makes sense.

  • sem@piefed.blahaj.zone
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    Lots of people not reading the article (me neither!) So i posted it here. My biggest question is why are all these people calling the cops? What is the other side of the story? Is Fox News fanning a moral panic about child trafficing?

    A Pennsylvania Mom Says the Cops Were Called on Her 4 Times—for Letting Her Kids Be Outside

    State lawmakers are mulling a law that would establish commonsense protections for families that give their children a reasonable amount of independence.

    Lenore Skenazy | 7.30.2026 6:30 AM

    Three kids play against a blue backdrop | Midjourney

    (Midjourney)

    Listen to this article

    6 min

    Listen to this article

    6 min

    Whenever Ms. Gordon lets her sons go outside now, she cleans house. “All right, my kid just went around the block to his friend, let me sweep,” she says. “Because I know if the house is clean, that’s the first step toward making a good impression on Child Protective Services. It’s a bizarre thought process, but—”

    But not completely irrational. Gordon (who asked not to use her first name) has had the cops called on her four times for letting her sons, 5, 7, and 9, walk and play outside in Bala Cynwyd, a suburb of Philadelphia. Reason reviewed several private messages Gordon exchanged with friends corroborating her version of events.

    The first time was about 18 months ago.

    “I was puttering around in the garden,” says Gordon. “The kids were around the corner, but they were never more than a few hundred feet away.”

    She’d given the boys her phone to play Pokemon Go, the game where you find Pokemon nearby using virtual reality. “They said a woman called to them and said, ‘Are you lost?’” Gordon says. “And they ignored her because they were very busy. And she must’ve called the police.”

    The boys were already almost home when the police pulled up. “My son [6 at the time] insisted on describing the whole Pokemon thing to this poor cop who I think decided to cut the visit short because of that.”

    Incident No. 2 involved Pokemon again.

    Gordon was in the little gym across the street from her home with two of her kids. One was in a soccer program, so the youngest, 5, asked to go out to the sidewalk to catch some more Pokemon. Gordon said he could for a few minutes.

    “He performed perfectly,” says Gordon, and soon came back in. So did a woman who spoke to Gordon about seeing the child unattended. Either before or after this, the woman apparently called the cops. A cop arrived soon after.

    Gordon told the cop she didn’t think her son had been in any danger. The cop agreed. When he left, Gordon followed him outside and saw him telling the woman and another man in the parking lot, “‘No, there’s nothing further I can do. There’s no signs of abuse or neglect.’” Concluded Gordon, “They wanted me arrested or something.”

    Note that while it’s becoming unusual to see kids as young as 5 outside on their own, psychologists say that, developmentally, kids are ready to walk to school by that age.

    In Incident No. 3, Gordon was walking around the neighborhood with her 5- and 7-year-old. The older boy wanted to go home, the younger one wanted to keep walking. So she told the 7-year-old he could walk back by himself. That meant he had to cross a couple of streets quiet streets he was already allowed to cross.

    When he got to his corner, some pickleball players asked if he was lost. He said no. They asked him where he lived. “He pointed to our house because you could see it from the corner,” says Gordon.

    He proceeded there. And at some point afterward, so did the police. This time Gordon’s husband spoke to them. “I don’t know the exact conversation, because I wasn’t there,” she says. “But basically it was like, ‘Yes, he’s 7. He’s allowed to walk up the block and around the corner by himself. He’s even allowed to go the playground by himself. I mean—it’s right there.’ And the cop was like, ‘Yeah, I don’t see anything here to worry about.’” Case closed.

    Then somehow came Incident No. 4. Gordon and her 5- and 7-year-old were walking a few blocks to go put books in a little free library. On the way home, along the local commercial avenue, there’s a plastic elephant in front of a car dealership that the 7-year-old likes to “ride.” His mom discourages this.

    On this trip, she and her younger son were partway down the block while her 7-year-old had stayed behind at the elephant. Her younger son had to go to the bathroom. So Gordon continued down the block, hoping this would help the older boy learn the natural consequences of his dawdling. He yelled at his mom to wait; she yelled back for him to catch up. But she wasn’t worried, because even if he didn’t, he’s taken this walk hundreds of times before. And each time she turned around, there he was—a block behind her.

    Mom and younger son got home, as did the elephant-rider a few minutes later. But a few minutes after that, a cop arrived, too, saying, “‘I heard a report about a kid who looked lost by the BMW dealership.’”

    “So it occurs to me that the person [who called the cops] must’ve followed us home,” says Gordon.

    First of all: Let’s hear it for the cops who refused to escalate these calls into anything more than a check-in and goodbye. But then let’s think about what it means when anyone with a phone can set the power of the state in motion.

    The problem, Gordon points out, is that when you have more than one kid, you simply cannot helicopter parent. For instance: What if you have a few that want to stay at the playground and one who needs to run home? (Exactly the situation Kansas mom Shaley Knickerbocker found herself in—and had the cops called on her.)

    When she thinks back to her own childhood in Brooklyn, says Gordon, “The best memories I have are being away from adults.” Going to the library or store—even building a little clubhouse in an old widow’s bushes.

    Now the Pennsylvania Legislature is considering a Reasonable Childhood Independence bill that would establish commonsense protections for families like Gordon’s.

    Currently, Pennsylvania’s child neglect law is broad. It says parents must provide “proper” care. “But the word ‘proper’ is vague and it invites bias and subjectivity,'” says Kathleen Creamer, managing attorney of the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.

    House Bill 1873 would amend the definition of neglect to exclude age-old independent activities, like walking to school, playing outside, or being home alone for a reasonable amount of time. The bill advanced out of committee in late 2025 and awaits further action from state lawmakers.

    Gordon and her husband bought their house because it is across the street from a playground. She wants her kids to have a healthy, happy childhood—running errands, riding their bikes, and playing, without the threat of government intervention.

    After all, she says: “What’s the point of living across from a playground if my kids can’t go there?”

    • prole@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      First of all: Let’s hear it for the cops who refused to escalate these calls into anything more than a check-in and goodbye

      What a low fucking bar. After all this and they still can’t help but bootlick

      “Give it up for the cops not murdering anyone this time”

      • DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz
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        I’m happily in camp fuck the police but I think she just wanted it to be known she didnt blame the police for simply responding to the calls. Of course it’s a low bar to applaud them for not escalating, but it doesn’t feel right to call her a bootlicker.

      • LostCarcosan@lemmy.today
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        I mean, bootlicking or not, that’s still pretty impressive for American cops to not just show up and shoot everybody involved, unfortunately

      • sem@piefed.blahaj.zone
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        I would like a news story to investigate what’s going on inside these people’s heads

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    Its always a neighbor who hates kids. More to the point they can’t stand kids playing and having fun. I’ve had calls from the city on a few occasions for fixing my own car in my driveway. I know who is doing it. Its a elderly woman with a mid forties autistic son who is at her beck and call. I fear for that hateful young man when she passes. I had the hood off my car fixing something close to the firewall and he stood in front of my driveway with a really cheap fiip phone taking photos. I started to call the police but figured it wouldn’t result in anything useful.

    • nullspace@lemmy.world
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      Kids playing outside and people working on their car lowers the property value for the neighborhood. So many of these shitty aspects of suburban life are rooted in NIMBY-types who have a hatred of anything that would dare threaten the value of their property.

      • phutatorius@lemmy.zip
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        Kids playing outside and people working on their car lowers the property value for the neighborhood.

        More to the point, fucked-up people believe that it’s true.

        • CmdrShepard49@sh.itjust.works
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          I never understood this or HOAs banning trucks from parking in driveways. These aren’t permanent fixtures of a home so how can it lower the value of a property?

    • Spooge@lemmy.world
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      My Dad told me that when he was 9, him and his brother rode their bikes to the ferry and went to Canada and came back. He never told his mom until he was an adult. They left the fucking COUNTRY.

    • DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz
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      I did this too in the mid 2000s before most kids had a cell phone. There was no way to contact my parents or for them to contact me for hours at a time. I would even be out by myself all day. I know people today who are afraid to let their kids do that because of how dangerous it is, but they’re kids have smartphones with gps location tracking on it. They somehow think it’s more dangerous for kids today.

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    Kids these days never play outside!

    Holy shit is that a kid outside? Better call the fucking cops.

    • RiDe @lemmy.world
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      There is a better and healthier way; it’s called Europe - where the children enjoy the freedom to be children.

        • RiDe @lemmy.world
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          That’s a very hopeful outlook. Unless the setup in Europe (Germany in my case) - public schools, really well organised football competitions for children of all ages, various clubs and activities, playgrounds everywhere, etc - changes drastically, I don’t see how this is happening in Europe in a decade. Here we literally chase the children to go out, while we sometimes beg them not to go out because it too much. At the height of the last heatwave, right after returning from vacation, our boys wanted to go out.

            • RiDe @lemmy.world
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              I don’t think so, and even if they were you’d need a car to go anywhere and everywhere. My little children’s school is 2 minutes walk from home. There are three playgrounds within 2, 4 and 8 minutes walk. My boys football club (with proper pitches and lighting) is 8 minutes on foot away from home. All the kids walk there.

              • ChexMax@lemmy.world
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                I’ve got a school in my back yard, a park at the end of my block, it’s not that there’s nowhere for kids to go, it’s that you’re not allowed to let the kids go there alone.

              • ColeSloth@discuss.tchncs.de
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                You don’t think so? Where do you think I’m at? But no, I’m sure you would know better about what the US has. From Germany. You don’t even seem to know the US has public schools almost all kids go to.

                • RiDe @lemmy.world
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                  I assumed from your instance from the onset that you’re also based in Germany, or have something to do with this place. But, my argument still stands. I didn’t mention only schools, did I? And even if we limit ourselves to schools, you should know that the school concept in Germany is entirely different from the US. In Germany you HAVE to go to the primary school within a defined school boundary - whether you’re rich or poor. Privatisation of schools is almost non-existent. Walking to and from school is the norm - this is absolutely encouraged. For example, my kids school bars parents from driving anywhere within 800 metres to drop their kids off. This encourages self reliance as children walk alone or in groups to school each day.

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    What’s wrong with people. Don’t these kids have PlayStations? Why do they need to play outside?

        • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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          No no, mcv is right.

          The outside is for cars.

          Its why we keep tearing down everything and paving it over for cars.

            • A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world
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              yep. All car focused.

              not even any space for pedestrians, not that you can walk anywhere thanks to Americas suburb obsession meaning impractical to get anywhere without a car, cause even just going to get groceries is like a 20 minute drive away, which is like…2 hours of walking, along roads that have a good chance of having no sidewalks.

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    3 days ago

    I want to know if all these calls were from different people or from the same busybody. If the latter, then the real police involvement ought to be going after that person for harassment.

    • VitoRobles@lemmy.today
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      My friend’s parents (who he is now no-contact) are those people! Fox News brain got them calling up the police on anybody suspicious.

      Ten times in three months, and after two fines for abusing the police lines, 911 now refuses to take their calls.

      Last my friend checked, they were ranting on Nextdoor and writing sympathy posts on Facebook to get people to call 911 for them.

    • brygphilomena@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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      Some busybody that also doesn’t want to deal with it themselves.

      The article even says they asked the kid if they were lost and he literally pointed to his house. Ridiculous they still called the cops. Also says something the cops knew EVERY time which house to go to.

    • Smoogs@lemmy.world
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      from the article it sounds like the same person…who they suspected had even been following them. I’d say a restraining order. cuz only a creep would take that much interest in a 7 yr old like that.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        No, I fucking can’t. As I already said, I did read the article and it wasn’t actually clear whether all four calls were from completely distinct groups of people.

        Caller #1 was “a woman.”

        Caller #2 was “a woman… and another man.”

        Caller #3 was “some pickleball players.”

        Caller #4 was completely undescribed.

        For all we know, it could’ve been the same woman in all four cases: maybe she’s with a man sometimes, and maybe she plays pickleball. It isn’t specific enough to rule that out.


        I’m getting kinda tired of assholes making stupid assumptions about whether I read the article or not and getting them wrong.

    • lolo@sh.itjust.works
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      I would encourage you to read the article, often you’ll find additional information there. It was different people or groups of people every time.

      • grue@lemmy.world
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        I did read the article. It didn’t say it was the same person, but it didn’t say every call was from a different person, either.