Let's celebrate her return without exaggerating the relevant dangers; stranger abductions are rare.
This could be just the tip of the (m)iceberg.
"This is literally a playground that's for 2- to 5-year-olds," says former preschool teacher Katie Courtney.
"You don't have to punish me because I am already punishing myself," says Tabitha Frank.
"Nobody is abducting 1- and 4-year-old kids into sex trafficking," says the director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center.
New reasonable childhood independence laws in these states will make it easier for parents to let children enjoy the holiday.
In the U.S., we arrest parents who let their 8-year-olds walk half a mile.
"I don't know this kid, I don't know his mom, I don't know where he lives," she said in a viral video.
"All I've been able to see for a little while was this trial," says Amy Lovato.
"Parents have told me that once their children learn to swim they have more confidence and self-esteem," says Joseph Brier, a swim instructor.
A new report finds that "most children benefit from some degree of independence by the time they are 5–6 years old."
Her viral video received 4 million views—and the police's attention.
"I didn't know if this would ever end," says Melissa Henderson. "I'm very relieved. A heaviness has lifted."
"We are here because one preschooler pulled down another preschooler's pants," says defense attorney Jason Flores-Williams.
In just two weeks, he has learned to hunt and survive. There's a lesson there.
He did "what any dad would—he went to hug his crying kid," says former town councilman Keith Kaplan.
When society criminalizes outdoor independence, it makes smart phone addiction more likely.
Normal human interaction should not automatically be considered creepy or criminal.
"I have never felt threatened by a single person in this town until meeting those officers and the social worker."
Thanks to globalization, we plebes can pay just $6.49 for a whole Whopper meal fit for a 16th-century king.
"She is way too young to be walking this distance by herself," said the cops.
Overbearing CDC guidance, pointless calls to the police, and more.
Pearisburg, Virginia, social services says kids must be watched—at all times—until they turn 13.
"My opinion is no exceptions should be made," says the chief of the police.
Heather Wallace plead guilty to child endangerment and can no longer work with kids.
A dimming sky and overprotective parents make it harder for today's kids to observe the great expanse.
"Keep safe from COVID by following CDC advice to wear a mask."
"Where is she going to put the grandkids if she doesn't create a bunkbed situation?"
"I'm skeptical that [dealers] would try to target children where there is not an existing market," says Sally Satel.
You're more likely to be struck by a meteor than to have your kid abducted by a stranger.
A Tucson mother who briefly left two kids alone while she ran an errand won a temporary reprieve in court.
The mayor promised to reopen city playgrounds, but more of them are currently closed than before he took office.
"There's currently no way for me to even know where that buffer zone is."
"It may be the case that [some American] children give up control of their attention when it's always managed by an adult," say some experts.
A kid roaming the streets on his own is like an endangered species: once common, now rare, and worth trying to bring back.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis thinks drag shows represent "child endangerment."
Many parents are on the child abuse and neglect registry, and they don't even know it.
"I really think I'm allowed to stay here," I explained, in vain.
Yours truly made the list.
"The suspect then intervened, deployed pepper spray and sprayed the victim, before fleeing the scene on foot," according to the police.
In Japan, even very young children are seen as capable.
"We certainly don't want parents getting in trouble because their kids were playing on the playground," says Gov. Jared Polis
"There are no known stories of any abductions here," says Anna Hershberger.
Perhaps our culture is accidentally creating PTSD by expecting it, assuming that no one could possibly emerge from a trauma psychologically intact.
The district attorney who put Melissa Lucio away is now behind bars himself.
"If this study doesn't put the nail in the coffin of academic training to little children, it's hard to imagine what will," says psychologist Peter Gray.
"I almost don't have words for how low it made me feel," says Melissa Henderson.
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