Children in More States Can Now Play Outside by Themselves Without Running Afoul of the Law

It’s spring — a great time for children to play outside, walk to the store or even climb a tree. And three states — Florida, Georgia, and Missouri — have just passed legislation declaring it is not parental neglect or child endangerment to let children do that.Hallelujah.Governor Kemp of Georgia signed his state’s bill into law this week. The Florida and Missouri bills now await their governors’ signatures as well. When all three states’ laws are signed, they’ll join the eight others that have enacted similar laws: Utah, Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Montana, and Virginia.These “Reasonable Childhood Independence” laws address a kind of crazy problem: Parents are sometimes investigated, or even arrested for neglect, simply for taking their eyes off their children. That’s one reason it’s so rare to see children playing outside now. Adults worry someone could call 911 and report them for trusting their tots with some unsupervised time.There’s hope, though. Let Grow, the nonprofit I cofounded, has been working to make it “easy, normal and legal” to give children back some reasonable independence since 2017. We know what YOU know in your heart of hearts and childhood memories: Children gain the confidence, the street smarts, the resilience and the social skills they need when they are trusted to do some stuff on their own. We’re talking about stuff you probably used to do — run an errand, walk to a friend’s house. Play.One of my Let Grow cofounders, the psychologist Peter Gray, has documented the sad but clear connection between the decline in childhood independence and the rise in tots’ anxiety and depression. Micromanagement saps anyone’s spirit.The “Reasonable Childhood Independence” laws backed by Let Grow and allied groups across the political spectrum clarify that just because a child is “unsupervised” doesn’t mean they are “neglected.”This year, our efforts got an additional boost from yet another Let Grow cofounder, Jonathan Haidt, and his bestseller “The Anxious Generation.” His book calls for passage of reasonable childhood legislation: “The government’s job is to protect children from abuse, not from the everyday activities of childhood.”A Georgia state senator, Jason Anavitarte, one of the bill’s sponsors, said that these days, “we should be doing more to allow our kids to be free to hang out with neighbors and friends and even go to the grocery store when Mom and Dad think they can handle it. I applaud Gov. Kemp and my fellow legislators for advancing childhood independence in Georgia.”As do I. Florida’s House bill was cosponsored by a Republican state representative, Monique Miller, who was inspired by a talk by Mr. Haidt in which he praised Let Grow’s efforts to enact reasonable independence protections. A Democratic state representative, Leonard Spencer, cosponsored the bill, with a Republican state senator, Erin Grall, sponsoring the state Senate’s companion bill, co-introduced by her Democratic senate colleague Barbara Sharief. Talk about bipartisan!And in Missouri, the state legislature passed a 66-page consolidated child welfare-focused bill that included “Reasonable Childhood Independence” provisions, thanks to an effort led by a Republican state representative, Josh Hurlbert.Next up, we hope? Let Grow is currently working with groups in Pennsylvania and Michigan. And we are always open to other states where parents are sick of feeling they have to second-guess everyday decisions like, “Can I send my kid to the park?”Parents deserve the freedom to raise independent children, so long as they are not putting them in serious and obvious danger. Children? They deserve the freedom to shout a happy, “Bye, mom!” as they head out to play — and grow.Creators.com

Children in More States Can Now Play Outside by Themselves Without Running Afoul of the Law

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