Am I the only one who has seen news reports of little kids out by their selves? The most recent one was a 4-year-old White girl in Philadelphia who got on a bus in the dark and took a seat. She said she wanted to get a slushy. It all began around 3 a.m. on a Friday on Torresdale Avenue near Cottman Street in the Tacony neighborhood. That’s where a man flagged down SEPTA’s 56 bus, telling the driver about the little girl he found. SEPTA surveillance video shows little Annabelle stepping onto the bus wearing a purple coat and snow boots. Reportedly the bus driver called the police and she was put back in the custody of her bewildered mother and father and no charges were filed. The parents said they needed to fix their locks and that this case could have really gone wrong.
The other case that caught my eye was a 2-year-old Black girl that walked from her apartment building, across a busy street, through the drive-in area of a gas station into the gas station store and put two pennies on the counter and said she wanted candy. She began to shop for the candy while the operator of the gas station locked the door and called the police. That child also was released back to the parents. When the parents arrived they were trying to figure out what was the big deal. The Detroit police gave them a warning.
I think both sets of parents should be charged for neglect. I thought if you have children you are supposed to pay attention to them and make sure they are safe in the house. Shouldn’t the doors be locked? Shouldn’t the kids be asleep at that time of night? I often see parents acting irresponsibly with their children. Not too long ago I ventured in to a buffet restaurant thinking that since it was after 7 p.m. on a Monday night that not too many kids would be there. Boy was I wrong, a whole bunch of shorties were there trying to serve their selves at the buffet line. They could barely reach the food. Where were the parents? They were busy doing their own thing.
Can’t they read the signs that clearly say small children should not be serving their selves?
And then there are the New York parents who have been nick named “Free Range parents” because they allowed their 9-year-olds to ride the subway alone, play in the park alone and ride their bikes in the neighborhood. These parents say this is good for the child’s happiness, self-confidence and they become self-sufficient. If you grew up when I did in the ’50s and the ’60s it was fine to ride your bike in the neighborhood or get on a public bus and ride to school.
It was a different day and we were safer. This is a new day and parents need to parent their children. Parent: a person that brings up and cares for another.
(Email the columnist at debbienorrell@aol.com or follow me on Twitter @norrellnpc)
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