Free range childrens parents have kids taken away by CPS

[Caffeinatedkat]

http://www.wusa9.com/story/news/loca...-cps/25691133/

SILVER SPRING, Md. (WUSA9) -- The person who called the non-emergency line Sunday evening when he saw two young children walking alone near a Silver Spring park said he had never seen them before.

Those two children were Rafi and Dvora Meitiv, 10 and six respectively, whose parents' "free-range" parenting style has been the topic of debate across the county.

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The caller, a Navy corpsman out walking his dog, said he had no clue who they were, but called police because he was concerned for their well being. After calling police, he kept an eye on the children until officers arrived.

An officer found the children in a parking lot less than a quarter mile from their home and called CPS. The officer didn't call the children's parents and CPS waited hours before they finally reached out to the Meitivs.

The parents, Danielle and Sasha Meitiv, are under investigation for possible child neglect for allowing their children to walk freely.

LISTEN to the full call here:

[Caffeinatedkat]

They already had CPS bring their kids home twice and told him not to let them walk alone the mile to the park and then they did it again .

[u2addict]

I guess they are antibiotic free, steroid free and their diet consists of grass, bugs and good ole seeds.
Cannot beat that with a stick.

[blighted star]

They're home with their parents now apparently. What kind of area are they in? Personally I wouldn't do what they do. I was definitely "free-range" as a kid & had some pretty awful experiences as a result. Having a reasonable parent nearby would've been nice. That said, I'm aware my experiences aren't everyone's & I do worry about crossing the line from "concerned parent" to "helicopter nutter" with my own kids, but so far,so good. I think.

This appears to be a community for people with free-range kid views & they have quotes from mum re the latest police contact


http://www.freerangekids.com/tag/meitiv/

I just converted the quarter mile distance to km & they were close to half a km from home. I wouldn't be comfortable letting a 6 & 10 yr old do this where I live, I'd at least kind of hang in the distance somewhere so help's nearby if they ever need it - but as I said, I don't know what their area's like.

But ...

The more I think about it, the general safety of the area they live in is beside the point now that it's reached this stage. Mum says the police pickups are distressing for them, but I bet being taken into care while their parents fight it out in court to prove a point/raise the profile of their child-rearing movement would be moreso. They're pretty much willfully putting their kids at risk now, not just from more general low probability harm, but from a very specific, high probability of being picked up by police & held again - which mum herself says is distressing for them. The authorities are NOT going to back down & every local who thinks the views of this couple are wrong are going to be watching & waiting for an excuse to report them.This really isn't a cause worthy of repeatedly frightening kids. I'm not sure such a cause exists at all, but it's especially unworthy when there's a chance, however slim, that your point-proving could kill or maim your kid/s anyway

I mean FFS, they only have another 7 yrs max where their youngest is even going to want them to hang with her at a park. Either of these parents could go to the park etc with them but take a book & sit off in the distance if they need a break from their kids so badly they can't manage to be actively involved. But it'd be much better if they'd just get down in the grass & dirt & catch some bugs or lizards with their kids or something. They're running out of kid time fast & they're wasting what little they've got on proving some academic theory of childhood & battling the bureaucracy that opposes it. That's pretty damn sad for that whole family because at 6-9 at least, kid's appreciate you giving them your attention far more than they appreciate you giving them their independence they've got from 10/12 > the rest of your lives for that