The episode has ignited another one of those debates that divides parentsinto vocal opposing camps. Are modern parents needlessly overprotective, or isthe world a more complicated and dangerous place than it Was when previousgenerations were allowed to wander about unsupervised？
From the "shes an irresponsible mother" camp came: "Shame on you forbeing so careless about his safety," in comments on the Huffington Post. Andthere was this from a mother of four.."How would you have felt if he didnt comehome？" But Skenazy got a lot of support, too, with women and men writing inwith stories about how they were allowed to take trips all by themselves at sevenor eight. She also got heaps of praise for bucking the "helicopter parent" trend:"Good for this Mom," one commenter wrote on the Huffington Post. "This is amuch-needed reality check."
Last week, encouraged by all the attention, Skenazy started her ownblog——Free Range Kids——promoting the idea that modern children need some ofthe same independence that her generation had. In the good old days nine-year-old baby boomers rode their bikes to school, walked to the store, took buses——and even subways——all by themselves. Her blog, she says, is dedicated to sen-sible parenting. "At Free Range Kids, we believe in safe kids. We believe in carseats and safety belts. We de NOT believe that every time school-age childrengo outside, they need a security guard."
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