"Free Range" Parenting Examined In Dallas
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DALLAS(CBSDFW.COM) - An old style of parenting is making a comeback. "Free range" parenting, where kids are allowed to roam free and play unsupervised came into the spotlight recently after a Maryland couple practicing this parenting style got in trouble with the law.
Dallas mom Lowry Manders is embracing it, too. She and her husband let their eight-year-old son, James and six-year-old daughter, Ellie ride a half mile to school alone.
After saying good-bye to her kids, Manders gets a text a few minutes later from a teacher saying James and Ellie got to school safely.
"Free range" parenting is the opposite of what's known as "helicopter parenting."
There are critics of both. While helicopter parents are always around and some claim are overly protective, free range parents allow certain freedoms for their children, like allowing them to go places alone and play alone.
"We're never in complete control, we'll never will be, if we were to prevent our children from ever having a a frustration of failure, that would be a disservice to them," says Manders.
The issue came to light in March when a Maryland couple got in trouble with Child Protective Services for allowing their ten and six-year-olds to walk alone on a busy street to a playground a mile from their home. The parents are now under state supervision.
Texas law puts no age limit on unattended kids but there are certain conditions.
"What systems were in place to keep that child safe?" says Dr. Sarah Feuerbacher, the Director of SMU's Center for Family Counseling. "An 8-year-old watching siblings and an 8-year-old left at home all day long. That's going to be very different."
Dr. Feuerbacher says under the right conditions, "free range" parenting can be very effective.
"The beauty with the free range child is they learn what to do in the future, they learn how to take care of themselves," says Feuerbacher.
Lowry Manders organizes group discussions with like-minded mothers at North Park Presbyterian Church. While the moms are confident in their parenting style, they all fear one thing.
"My fear is more that someone, another parent might say, that's not good what you're doing and somehow try to get me in trouble for it," says Manders.
The parents in the group say it's important to prepare and train children before letting them play unsupervised.
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