no. she's an idiot.

I think she makes some really interesting points here. Child abduction (plimates - please get used to my poor spelling and accept my apologies) really isn't the "norm" but all the media attention, which is good and may help save them, gives people a skewed idea about the instances of occurrence. However, 9 is pretty young and like one respondent said, I would feel responsible if I did that and my child was nabbed.

I rode the buses everywhere when I was nine - no tubes (subway) but times have changed, more traffic, more nutters, more danger!

I don't think she's an idiot at all. Or wrong. At her child's age I was left alone to walk to a friend's house if I wanted and get home on my own too. We rode our bikes all over the county, without parental supervision and without cell phones (and helmets for that matter).

This is very true, people keep protecting their kids from so much and then when things get hard later in life they wonder why the kids depend on them, move back home, can't adjust to the slightest set-back.

She's doing a good thing for her child, he's going to be amazingly independent.

I don't know, but I would be willing to bet that statistically speaking it is more dangerous for the kid to walking/playing on his own within a few blocks from his home or school.

I don't think that 9 is old enough to do something like this.
I agree that children should have independence, but I am not so sure 9 is the right age to be dropping them off and letting them fend for themselves in NY.

IMO.

She should have started of a bit smaller.

And like MeMe said and the respondent in the article, I would feel completely responsible if my child were to go missing. Even if it is a "rare occurance."

I don't know what the subways are like where in the US of A but the underground in London can be pretty intimidating in rush hours even for an adult.

All worries of abduction and everything else aside, I don't know if I'd be happy for my 9 year-old in todays day and age to be traveling on their own anywhere.

I'm all for encouraging independent behavior in my kids but still....

I can't believe people are calling this child abuse! He's nine, not five.

While I've only ridden on a subway once, when I was nine I walked the 2km trek to school and home alone every day, and I was allowed to bike to friends houses that were blocks and blocks away.

Good on her for allowing him a bit of independance.

Very good article, and I think she has a clear head on her shoulders. If you can't trust your kid to walk on their own, maybe they ought to wear a helmet all the time?

That's because 'statistically speaking' more kids play in their own neighborhoods than take the bus home.

Raise the number of kids on the A-train and you'll raise the number of accidents that occur.

We also had 'unlimited independence' in my day, but we were confined to a Coast Guard base. The speed limit was 15 and you were more likely to run into base security than you were into a criminal.

Even still, we set off homemade firecrackers (lighters and ziploc bags) and we climbed 20ft cliffs, and we saw signs that said "NO ENTRY" and we went in exploration of what could POSSIBLY be back there.

Now apply that to a nine year old on a cross-city trek. How many places? How many 'stupid stunts'? How many strangers.. with each one raising the chances that your kid won't get back home.

Freedoms come in many varieties. Would we thought of her as stupid to leave her kid in California and make his way to New York? Of course. How about 'Cross New York' Yeah. How about '5 Blocks away?' Maybe not so much. Most kids can make it 5 blocks.

Like clscott645 said, Start em out smaller.

This comment from the article made me laugh:



Soooooo, you don't trust him with a mobile phone because he might lose it but:

Not worried that the kid might get lost or anything but we wouldn't want the cell phone going walkie's would we 0_o

Like I said before, I'm all for encouraging independence, up to a point. I had social services call round to talk to me because my neighbor reported us for leaving our 9 and 10 year olds to go to our local shop. It's a 3 minute walk away and we were gone 10.

New York is no place for a kid on his own. While I think it's a wonderful idea to foster independence, you MUST make sure the child is protected. Mom should have had a friend that the child didn't know act as his shadow and safety net.

Life is for living.

Like some of the other commenters I was given quite a bit of freedom as a child and I am still alive. Is the world really any scarier than when you were growing up? I don't know, there have always been crazy people around, kids went missing when I was a kid. Living in fear and making decisions based on that fear is bad.

It depends on the city. The subways in NY are disgusting and creepy, or at least the stations I saw were, but the subways in DC are actually very nice.

Those are the only two subway systems I've had personal experience with, btw.

I don't know that I agree with that 100%. I think that a certain amount of fear is healthy because the threats are out there. Why don't we cross the street without looking both ways? For fear of being hit by a car. (that and our moms drilled it onto our heads)
Why don't we stick our hand in a fence with a growling dog on the other side? For fear of being bitten. Why don't we eat chicken raw? For fear of getting salmonella. Why don't I let my 9 year old hop on the bus from the mall by herself? For fear that she may not make it home.

I give her independence that I feel is appropriate for her and I base this decision on her maturity level and on fears that too much might harm her, not help her.

I'm just sayin'.... :P

She should have went with him, only left him in control of what they did. She would become `dependent` on him to get home.

can someone tell me why i can't read this story? i click the link and i get
"You are not authorized to access this page."

i also tried to do a search for the story at the site and it came up empty.

Im getting the same error

^i don't know. It's working for me though, and I just clicked the link for the first time a few seconds ago.

That's cos I just fixed it ;)