Can we stop arresting moms who’ve loosened their apron strings?
Two mothers have recently been arrested for letting their kids play at a park alone. I don’t have an in-depth, first hand knowledge of these particular cases, but, I super expect it to become a trend by end of summer to send our kids out on their own.
I’m not here to argue that kids should travel to the nearest town by foot for the sake of re-enacting Stand By Me. Nor am I insisting parks are safe for children who roam parent-less. I’m saying, should we be blaming the mom or the pedophile- kidnapping mother-fuckers who ruin EVERYthing?
Shouldn’t we be cutting some dicks off, instead of our children’s sense of adventure?
I live across the street from a park. My children are 9, 7 and 4. They aren’t going to the playground alone, ever. Here’s why: Because the shit’s been scared out of me once or twenty times. Because my friend’s sister went missing and never came back. Because the media is relentless with horror. Because 15 minutes from my town a child, who looks a lot like my daughter, was brutally assaulted and killed by two strangers. Because danger is everywhere. Warnings, watch-outs and what-ifs haunt our playgrounds. That’s why. It’s hit home. We are all fearful.
But to blame a mom who wants to trust in the good? The mom who knows damn well her kid can handle it. Who rigs them with traceable cell phones.
Are they making the best choice? I don’t know. Are they less scared than other moms? Maybe. We all in one way or another gamble with our children’s safety. We feed them shitty food, we trust a babysitter, we send them off to school where they will be shamed, bullied or catch the flu. We can be blamed for lots of shit. But we are picking on the Park Mom. And it’s a tricky argument. I see good and bad. But is locking moms up where we want to go with this?
Blaming Park Mom sounds a lot like the rape argument , where her dress made him do it. Instead of moms, can we start keeping the bad guys in jail? Or better yet, actually put them there.
What if we start a public campaign called Take Back the Park. Let our kids go alone while we stand guard (obviously) within earshot. Let’s hold signs that say “Pardon Me While my Child has a 70’s Summer” or “Get Help for your Desires to Harm Children – Cause it’s Sick and Wrong”
We can’t turn back time. We don’t live in the 70’s anymore. Were perverts and child-nappers around then? Yes. Were kids safer then? Probably. Maybe not. Who knows.
What I do know is we weren’t scared then. Because when I was a kid, my mom, who is riddled with anxiety, still let me walk three blocks to kindergarten. Alone. I could also , with a note, get cigarettes for my dad. The letter wasn’t giving me permission to purchase, it was to make sure I didn’t eff up the order. I just wanted penny candy.
My parents didn’t have instant access to daily, apocalyptic Breaking News. They assumed the world was safe, which it was and likely still is.
Kids will fall off swings and get stung by bees. Being kidnapped by a stranger, in a park, is actually rare. Yet we know it can happen, so it paralyzes us. Even though statistics prove more often than not it’s someone you know who will hurt you. Not a stranger hiding in the bush. The pervy uncle who loves taking your kid to the park is really the one you need to worry about.
