# Parents - this is why your children aren't allowed to run free in public **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 6, 2008, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510 "2008-11-06T20:12:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/21 "2008-11-07T05:10:46Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > I take it you have not escorted a three-year old. > > A kid can easily break away from a parent for a couple of seconds, and that is all it takes to get hurt. > > I expect other people to take reasonable care, as I would expect parents to take reasonable care. The thought that others have _no_ responsibility for others does not sit well with me or seem at all reasonable. Do you also blame the driver if a kid breaks free and gets run over in a parking lot? The world is a dangerous place; until your kids learn how to not get killed, it is 100% the parents’ responsibility to keep them alive. ---
**Author:** ![phil417](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/6bbea6/32.png) [@phil417](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phil417)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/22 "2008-11-07T06:08:26Z")
Working at a mid-Michigan Wally\*world, I wish parents everywhere saw this. Love, Phil ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/23 "2008-11-07T14:31:57Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Do you also blame the driver if a kid breaks free and gets run over in a parking lot? The world is a dangerous place; until your kids learn how to not get killed, it is 100% the parents’ responsibility to keep them alive. If the driver was driving in a reckless and irresponsible manner, yes I would. Wouldn’t you? 😕 It is no different than any other sort of accident, it would depend on the circumstances. Why on earth would some driver, or anyone else, get a _free pass_ on responsibility for their actions, merely because their victim was a child? Certainly there will be cases where the driver was wholly not responsible, such as when the child darts out in the road and the driver _cannot_ stop in time. You position appears to be that the driver has no _duty_ to stop if s/he can, since it is “100% the parent’s fault” in all circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/24 "2008-11-07T14:50:55Z")
> [@Critical1](#): > > I did that once, well sort of, I was playing hackey sack at a park and some kid kept moving up close while we were playing. his dad told him about 8 times to move back but he kept moving closer after backing off. at some point he wandered off (I thought) and the bag went over my head so I did a sort of spinning back kick thing and nailed the kid in the head. > > fortunately I was wearing Boots so my foot was ok. Ha! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/25 "2008-11-07T15:10:12Z")
Was the kid okay, anyone know? I really wish our culture would reacquaint itself with the term “accident”. Bad shit can happen without anyone being horribly negligent. Get over it. Any sort of life completely 100% safe at all times isn’t worth living, and that includes the life of a three year old. With utter safety, there’s no learning worth having. Is your kid going to get hurt? Yep. Is your kid going to get sick and scrape knees and have their heart broken by some jerk in junior high? Gosh, I hope so. 'Cause if not, they’ll never learn the joys of chicken soup and Mom’s cool hand on a feverish head, the bliss of running as fast as this fantastic machine we call a body can handle or the irrepressible heights of adolescent love. _ahem_ Sorry, got a little purple there. But without risking purple prose, you’ll never find Shakespeare. ---
**Author:** ![YoudNeverGuess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a587f6/32.png) [@YoudNeverGuess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YoudNeverGuess)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/26 "2008-11-07T15:24:18Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > When I was a kid, I _wanted_ to be on a leash–after all, there were all those kidnappers and break dancers out to get me. Now I’m 35, and I wear a leash just for the nostalgia. As long as it _is_ just for the nostalgia and not for anything more, shall we say, deviant! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/27 "2008-11-07T15:32:46Z")
I’d like to make a law that children under three aren’t allowed to walk in airports. They must be carried or strollered. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost run over the little darlings trying to make my next flight, all because mommy and daddy think it’s adorable to watch little Tina waddle her way through a crowd. ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/28 "2008-11-07T15:37:08Z")
> [@Velma](#): > > People complain when I let them roam free, people complain when I keep them in cages. What am I supposed to do? Giant Hamster Ball. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/29 "2008-11-07T16:06:36Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’d like to make a law that children under three aren’t allowed to walk in airports. They must be carried or strollered. > > I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost run over the little darlings trying to make my next flight, all because mommy and daddy think it’s adorable to watch little Tina waddle her way through a crowd. I would vote for that law. Also, some sort of fine for people who let their kids wander around restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/30 "2008-11-07T16:11:21Z")
I’m not a parent, but… My response to the kid, as parent: “Well I guess you learned something today, didn’t you. You can get hurt when you run out in front of people.” There’s some value in making it a lesson in the kid’s behavior. There’s less value in making it a lesson in YOUR (bad) behavior. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/31 "2008-11-07T16:18:09Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > I’m not a parent, but… > > My response to the kid, as parent: “Well I guess you learned something today, didn’t you. You can get hurt when you run out in front of people.” > > There’s some value in making it a lesson in the kid’s behavior. There’s less value in making it a lesson in YOUR (bad) behavior. B-b-b-but if I do something to suggest to my child that she/he is not the perfect, brilliant spark of life that the universe revolves around … she/he _will hate me_. ---
**Author:** ![Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bcef8e/32.png) [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Petrobey_Mavromihalis)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/32 "2008-11-07T16:34:01Z")
> [@Wygtya](#): > > When my children were this age they had harnesses and leashes. These were not those flimsy velcro wrist things either - they zipped up like a vest. If we were out in crowds and they were not in a stroller, they had a leash. Did I care if people looked at me oddly or made snide remarks? Hell no. My kids had more room than if I held their hand all the time (which is impossible anyway). I had them under control at all times. They did not get lost or abducted and did NOT grow up with some psychological complex for being leashed like a dog. Are you sure? I hate the idea of harnessing kids I’m afraid. There are certain situations when you need to control them - hold their hand, or pick them up. Apart from that let them learn for themselves. It’s the hardest part of being a parent, but you have to let them fall sometimes. ---
**Author:** ![MissIntent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/97f17d/32.png) [@MissIntent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissIntent)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/33 "2008-11-07T16:51:35Z")
> [@Petrobey\_Mavromihalis](#): > > Are you sure? > > I hate the idea of harnessing kids I’m afraid. There are certain situations when you need to control them - hold their hand, or pick them up. Apart from that let them learn for themselves. It’s the hardest part of being a parent, but you have to let them fall sometimes. I disagree with you. I remember being on a leash in the mall as a small child. And my memory was not that I was on a leash, it was that mom or dad was connected to me. Far from being ruined by being leashed, I found it comforting. “Mom and Dad can’t get far away, they’re attached to me!” ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/34 "2008-11-07T17:08:17Z")
> [@Dread\_Pirate\_Jimbo](#): > > That was so awesome the way the kid spun off into space after getting kicked. I love it! 😃 I give this video two thumbs up! Would watch again! ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/35 "2008-11-07T17:09:59Z")
If I get lost in the world of YouTube for the afternoon, I’m gonna half to crack some heads. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/36 "2008-11-07T17:17:53Z")
> [@Gus\_Gusterson](#): > > That video is awesome if you can look past the fact that the kid got the shit kicked out of her. I don’t understand how anybody can overlook that fact. I’m not saying that the break-dancer did anything deliberately; just that the video isn’t funny. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/37 "2008-11-07T18:21:30Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > If the driver was driving in a reckless and irresponsible manner, yes I would. Wouldn’t you? 😕 > > It is no different than any other sort of accident, it would depend on the circumstances. Why on earth would some driver, or anyone else, get a _free pass_ on responsibility for their actions, merely because their victim was a child? > > Certainly there will be cases where the driver was wholly not responsible, such as when the child darts out in the road and the driver _cannot_ stop in time. You position appears to be that the driver has no _duty_ to stop if s/he can, since it is “100% the parent’s fault” in all circumstances. Sorry, I should have specified that my hypothetical situation was just a driver driving normally. My point was that parents need to expect drivers to be driving in parking lots, and not let their kids get in the way of cars, ever. The consequences are too high. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/38 "2008-11-07T18:57:14Z")
> [@featherlou](#): > > Sorry, I should have specified that my hypothetical situation was just a driver driving normally. My point was that parents need to expect drivers to be driving in parking lots, and not let their kids get in the way of cars, ever. The consequences are too high. Well, the problem with the “parents must keep their kids 100% safe” is that such kids never have the opportunity to grow up. Certainly I’d not allow a child to wander around in places where cars are backing up, but making such categorical statements just increases the (to my mind regrettible) modern tendency for parents to anxiously hover over every single thing a kid does, and for non-parents to expect or approve of this. Similar to the suggestions above that there oughtta be a law that parents have to carry or stroller their kids everywhere in public. Just when will such cosseted and pampered specimens learn how to behave in public, if they are not even allowed to _walk_ in public? Seems to me the very same people requiring that parents keep kids 100% safe and never, ever expose them to anything that might conceiveably be dangerous or expose them to the public would be agast when the same parents are showing up to take these kid’s job interviews or argue with their college profs over grades when they grow up - yet that is the natural and predictable result. ---
**Author:** ![Neverender](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/848f3c/32.png) [@Neverender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neverender)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/39 "2008-11-07T19:49:50Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > I would vote for that law. Also, some sort of fine for people who let their kids wander around restaurants. I wholeheartedly agree, there’s been many a time when I’ve nearly ended up wearing around 20 bowls of extremely hot soup because someone can’t keep control of their kids and they run under your feet while your carrying trays. Grrrrr. A restaurant isn’t for anyone to run around in. Even if you’re 3. Sit the fuck down, you’re here to eat not play! If the kids want to play while you’re waiting to be served, take em outside for 5 mins, christ… ---
**Author:** ![Death\_of\_Rats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a6a055/32.png) [@Death\_of\_Rats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Death_of_Rats)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2008, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510/40 "2008-11-07T19:55:38Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I’d like to make a law that children under three aren’t allowed to walk in airports. They must be carried or strollered. > > I can’t tell you how many times I’ve almost run over the little darlings trying to make my next flight, all because mommy and daddy think it’s adorable to watch little Tina waddle her way through a crowd. Yes, because trying to make a flight automatically absolves YOU of the responisbility to be aware of YOUR surroundings and not run into other people. :rolleyes: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/parents-this-is-why-your-children-arent-allowed-to-run-free-in-public/471510.md?page=3)