Does NYS Need A Free-Range Parenting Law?

Utah just became the first state to pass a "free-range parenting law." Is it time for New York State to do the same?

Free-range parenting - or as we called it growing up - PARENTING. A new law passed in Utah allows kids to do things like ride their bikes, play outside, and go to the park unsupervised. It allows parents to use their judgement when parenting their children without fear of prosecution.

Seriously.

I can't even believe we need a law to allow parents to, you know, parent. Not to sound like one of those people who walked uphill both ways to school (it was pretty flat) - but when I was a kid, we came home from school, put on our play clothes and played outside until the street lights came on, or we heard mom yelling from the window.

Obviously, our children are growing up in a different world, and there are parents who neglect their children - or worse. That doesn't mean that parents are suddenly less capable of raising their children, and that the decision to let a child play in the road in front of their house is somehow a crime (this recently happened right in Ogdensburg.)

Utah actually passed a law to decriminalize parenting.

Plenty of research has confirmed that kids need to be able to demonstrate independence and resilience - the ability to bounce back from disappointment - in order to be successful in life. What does it say that we need to pass a law in order to allow them to develop those traits? More importantly, is it time for NY to do the same? Because I'm pretty sure there are some kids in Ogdensburg who'd like to play some basketball outside.

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