What’s Next for Bold 5-Year-Old Who, Defying Helicopter Parenting Norm, Walks Alone to Chick-fil-A?

The story of a 5-year-old who wandered away from home is going viral for a wonderful reason: The cops did not arrest the parents.At Jacksonville, Florida, a 5-year-old named William managed to leave his family’s home and fully fenced-in yard one recent morning and walk over to the local Chick-fil-A. Alone.Whereupon the employees couldn’t help but notice he seemed younger than your average solo customer. They called the cops while feeding the boy what must’ve been a delicious breakfast: freedom.When patrol officers Perri and Kelly arrived on the scene, they were kind and patient. Where did the boy live? “It’s right across the street, right over there,” he replied, waving vaguely. So they put him in the cruiser — prompting the tot to ask, “Are you going to get me in jail?”“No, I’m not going to put you in jail!” was the response. The cops proceeded to drive William around the neighborhood, asking if he recognized his home. And then he did.When William’s parents, Phil and Victoria, came to the door, they were not clapped into handcuffs as one Georgia mom was when her son, 10, did the same thing: walked off without her knowing it. They weren’t even scolded.Instead, the cops and parents marveled together about how scary it can feel when your child goes missing. And later on, they all went to Chick-fil-A for a little celebration.There are many morals of this story:1. Children will always be children. To arrest parents simply because they don’t know where their children are every single second of the day means arresting parents for being humans raising younger humans.2. It’s only fair to celebrate the good, not just the bad. God knows I sound the alarm when cops go overboard on parents. When they do the opposite — proceed with common sense and kindness — it makes sense to spread the word too. They are role models.3. Florida just became the 11th state where Let Grow helped pass a Reasonable Childhood Independence law. It clarifies that “neglect” is when you put your child in obvious, serious danger — not anytime you take your eyes off them. When I asked the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office public information officer, Christian Hancock, if our law was the reason the cops did not arrest the parents, he said it was simpler than that: “These parents didn’t do anything wrong.”4. Chick-fil-A is fast becoming Woodstock for a generation of freedom-seeking tots below the age of 10. You might recall a video that went viral earlier this year when Utah mom Stephanie Read let her son, 7, go into a Chick-fil-A and order for himself. She’d just read “The Anxious Generation” by Let Grow cofounder Jonathan Haidt. In it, he recommends giving children more independence in the real world. The mom was worried and teary while she waited for her son to emerge with their lunch, but ultimately they were both elated by his adventure.Sweet. But the huge, unasked question about this more recent event is this: Why not give the boy MORE freedom?Why is William’s walk seen as an anomaly — cute but concerning — that the parents will now “of course” prevent? Why not let him do MORE on his own since he’s so competent? He has proven himself to the world.It’s almost as if we all can’t believe our own eyes: that a 5-year-old can be FINE walking around his neighborhood, getting himself someplace on his own, interacting with adults and enjoying some autonomy.Let’s work to renormalize THAT instead of just being glad the parents weren’t arrested.Creators.com

What’s Next for Bold 5-Year-Old Who, Defying Helicopter Parenting Norm, Walks Alone to Chick-fil-A?

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