Free-Range Parenting Made Law

Guest: Senator Lincoln Fillmore (R), Utah’s 10th District In recent years, parents have become much more cautious about letting their kids get around by themselves, so much so that a couple years ago, a Maryland couple was charged with neglect when they repeatedly allowed their 6- and 10-year olds to walk home from the park unsupervised. But there’s lately been a pushback against “helicopter” parenting, in an effort to allow kids more independence. Utah lawmakers recently changed state law so that parents can’t be prosecuted for letting their kids walk to the store, to school or to a friend’s house alone. The law is the first of its kind in the nation.