What’s Free-Range Parenting–And Should It Be Legal?

If you think you see fewer kids walking to school by themselves or biking around the neighborhood alone these days—you’re right. And that’s because in some cases, letting kids off the leash has landed parents in legal trouble. In 2014, for example, an Indiana mom was arrested for letting her 7-year-old son play unattended in a park a half a mile from their home. A year later, Maryland parents had their 10- and 6-year-old children taken by Children’s Protective Services for letting them play in a park unsupervised. Both cases are forms of free-range parenting, a parenting style that aims to foster independence as developmentally appropriate. And Utah just became the first state to officially legalize it.

Maybe you didn’t even know aspects of free-range parenting were illegal. It really boils down to the state. In Delaware, the Division of Family Services will investigate any report of a child under 12 being left home alone. In North Carolina, fire codes say no children under age 8 can be left without supervision. Thanks to a 2015 amendment to a federal education law, parents are now protected from civil or criminal punishment for letting kids travel to and from school by themselves “by a means the parents believe is age appropriate.” Utah is taking that a step further with bill S.B. 65, signed into law on March 17.

The law, signed by Gov. Gary Herbert, says the definition of “neglect” does not include:

“Permitting a child, whose basic needs are met and who is of sufficient age and maturity to avoid harm or unreasonable risk of harm, to engage in independent activities, including:
(A) traveling to and from school, including by walking, running, or bicycling;
(B) traveling to and from nearby commercial or recreational facilities;
© engaging in outdoor play;
(D) remaining in a vehicle unattended, except under the conditions described in Subsection 76-10-2202(2).”

By leaving the age of a child open-ended, the law aims to allow police and prosecutors to work on a case-by-case basis.