Free-range parents found responsible for 'unsubstantiated' child neglect plan to appeal
Image from Shutterstock
Maryland parents who let their children, ages 10 and 6, walk a mile unsupervised were recently found responsible for “unsubstantiated” child neglect by the Montgomery County Child Protective Services.
The parents, Danielle and Alexander Meitiv, hoped that the case would be dismissed, the Washington Post reports. Instead, the finding mandates that the agency keep an open file on the couple for at least five years.
According to the article, police picked up the children, who were walking to a Silver Spring park, in December 2014.
The parents, who according to the Washington Post are trained scientists, advocate what’s known as free-range parenting, which supports the idea that children learn to be independent by making choices. The outlook often also supports giving children unsupervised time outside their homes.
According to the couple, who plan to appeal the CPS finding, they would not have let their children walk to the park by themselves if they thought that they weren’t ready for the responsibility. Before the children approached the one-mile walk, they had walked by themselves to another park, one block from their home, and a library that is three-quarters of a mile away.
A Maryland Department of Human Resources spokeswoman told the Washington Post that the agency couldn’t comment on the family’s case specifically, due to confidentiality requirements.
Previously, according to the article, CPS officials said that their decision was influenced by a Maryland law that holds children younger than 8 years old must be supervised by a reliable person who is at least 13. The law pertains to children confined in enclosed spaces, like homes or cars.
