Comment by jedberg | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jedberg | Hacker News Reader

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The risk is real, but not how you think. The risk of children getting hurt is actually the lowest it's ever been, but risk of legal trouble is the highest it's ever been.

We let our children roam and got a visit from the police because of it. Someone reported "unsupervised children". The police came to our door and started questioning us.

My wife just kept saying, "did we do anything illegal?" and "were they unsafe?".

The police ultimately admitted that they were perfectly safe and we did nothing illegal, but warned us that, "it just looks bad and you should be more careful".

We've also been scolded by other parents at the park when we let our kids go to the other side of the park 100 yards away. "How could you let them go so far? What if they get hurt or need you?"

It makes us not want to let them roam, just to avoid the hassle.

> The police ultimately admitted that they were perfectly safe and we did nothing illegal, but warned us that, "it just looks bad and you should be more careful".

The police need to stop taking these reports seriously and stop responding to "look bad". They're supposed to be enforcing the law, not the look. If some nosey busybody reports something happening where there is no law being broken, they need to be told in no uncertain terms to STFU and stop wasting law enforcement's time. Better yet, have light criminal consequences for this kind of misuse of emergency lines.

The incentives for the police don't encourage this outcome. Imagine if something does happen and there is a report in the local newspaper that the neighbors had reported to the police multiple times but they did nothing. Better to CYA and give the parents a talking to and be seen to have done something than to do nothing at all. Situations like this is what should give you pause before reaching for your pitchforks next time you hear of someone screwing up royally.

And that comes from parents grossly overestimating risk, like the parent comment said.

What ages are you talking about? Where I live (in the US) I can’t imagine parents scolding me if I let my kids wander 100 yards from me, unless they were very young.

6-8 at the time.

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