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Virginia Mom Gets 6-Month Suspended Jail Sentence for Letting 5-Year-Old Walk to the Pond (reason.com)

submitted 1 day ago by velma@sh.itjust.works to c/wildfeed@sh.itjust.works

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Until very recently, Karyann Parkinson lived in leafy Williamsburg, Virginia. She and her husband, Dallin, moved there from Utah so Parkinson could attend William and Mary Law School.

In June, when Parkinson was preparing for the bar—and also happened to be eight months pregnant with her fifth child—she and her then-youngest, Sam, went for a bike ride, as they often do. They stopped for her son's favorite activity: collecting goose feathers from the path near their community pond. When they got home, he asked if he could walk back and get some more.

Parkinson said yes. It's a short walk, along a sidewalk separated from the street by 10 feet of grass. Sam would have to cross two streets with crosswalks, which she'd seen him do safely hundreds of times—including six times that morning, she says. Off he went while she made lunch.

A passerby saw Sam and alerted security. One of the community's security guards escorted the boy back and gave Parkinson an earful. Pretty soon there were three cop cars, just as many cops, a security vehicle, and two Child Protective Services (CPS) workers at Parkinson's door.

CPS ended up investigating her for abuse and neglect.

The cops, meanwhile, charged her with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. CPS found the allegations substantiated and placed Parkinson on the state's child abuse and neglect registry. She will remain there for seven years.

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[-] Bebopalouie@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 day ago

Back in the day a friend and I would take off across the golf course we lived off of. We were around 7 years old. A massive golf course (St George’s). We would walk for kilometers in any direction we found fun. 5 or 6 hours later we had no idea where we were and would knock on a door to any house around and asked to use their phone. Would call mom, gave her the address and she would pick us up. We did this for a few years.

It may be anecdotal but we were physically and mentally capable enough at that age to get around some fair distances, not get into trouble and not cause trouble. There is no reason kids should not be given some freedoms to explore and grow.

this post was submitted on 03 Sep 2026

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