Free to roam

[Tunnelcat]

Utah just passed a "free-range parenting" law. Anyone think that this is a capital idea, one that will function without some sort of negative consequences? Will the State of Utah now lead in the creation of a whole new generation of self-directed and independent-minded kids? Or, will it end up with a bunch of kids who turn into social miscreants or victims because they've never had a good dose pf parental judgement and guidance to teach them as to what's right or wrong and who they can trust or not? Remember, kids don't have fully developed frontal lobes in their brains. They can't make good judgement calls as to what's right or wrong and they lack impulse control. This law was also passed in the day and age of violent school shootings, most perpetrated by psychopathic adolescent males who are still considered children in the eyes of the law and in the day and age when schools really don't have in loco parentis rights anymore. When I was a kid, the school was a closed campus. You couldn't go off campus and wander freely and if you were absent or misbehaved, your parents were notified and your parents backed up the school's decisions.

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Family/utah-p ... d=54020213

Society already does have examples of aimless and loose parenting. We've already seen what happens to latchkey kids. Some can take the responsibility, some just can't. Right now, this is what most suburban and city latchkey kids do with their time, watch TV or play computer games. They'll become diabetic blimps with developmental issues, or they'll eventually get into some sort of major trouble and crime, all because they got bored, were without direction when they needed it and trusted the wrong people.

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/198 ... -afternoon