Starting today, I am going to be working on some parent-focused content for the station I work with, Q13 Fox News in Seattle. Although we are talking to Seattle families, the ideas and messages ring true to families across the country (and around the world). Today we aired a story about a family who some would describe as "free-range" parents. Take a look at the coverage and the expert who came on to answer questions. I would love to hear what you think!
Are you a helicopter mom? Or would you consider yourself a “free-range parent”?
Are you a helicopter mom? Or would you consider yourself a “free-range parent”?
The concept of
free-range parenting is making headlines after a family in Maryland let their 6
and 10-year-old kids go to the park alone. A “concerned citizen” called the
police, getting CPS involved and separating kids from their parents for hours.
In Maryland you can
leave your child home alone at 8-years-old. In the state of Washington, there’s
no law about children being left alone. The only guideline from DSHS is that
they shouldn’t be younger than 10.
Scott Sciuchetti, from Covington, Washington, says he doesn’t love the label, but he says he’s been a free-range parent for years.
Scott Sciuchetti, from Covington, Washington, says he doesn’t love the label, but he says he’s been a free-range parent for years.
“It
sounds like chickens, but more on the free-range side. I figure you need to
give the kids responsibility when they’ve earned it. It’s part of parenting to
teach them to be responsible adults.”
His
oldest daughter, Gabi Sciuchetti, says this freedom is what encouraged her to
start college at 13-years-old. Now she is a 15-year-old Sophomore at the
University of Washington.
“I
don’t think I would have been able to achieve anything, like I have, without
very much freedom.”
Freedom
for Gabi started at a young age. She was allowed to go the store, the park and
the playground without her parents. Often with her little brother in tow.
When
she was thirteen she began riding the light rail, train and bus alone,
commuting up to an hour and a half by herself.
Her
dad, Scott, says if he had been a helicopter parent, she wouldn’t have been so
successful.
“Getting
her and my son to learn what the world’s really like, how to make good
decisions, and if I’m there hovering over them all the time, then they won’t
figure things out for themselves.”
Critics
say kids are snatched up, raped or hurt by strangers every day, which is why
someone might call the cops on a child or a teen who is alone.
Scott
says, “You might get struck down by lightening tomorrow, come down with some
sort of disease, whatever, there’s those sorts of risks everywhere.”
Gabi
admits that independence can be scary at times and she has run into trouble on
her commutes.
“There
have been lots of scenarios where people have tried to talk to me on the train,
or talk to me on the bus, that I’m not completely comfortable with.”
But
she says her parents have prepared her for the unexpected.
“Part
of the really great things about the way my parents raised me is that I’m
self-sufficient enough to say, ‘okay, I’m uncomfortable, here’s a way I can
deal with this’ or ‘I can go talk to the bus driver.’ Or move away. Or switch
buses.”
But
she does agree, she isn’t ready for anything.
“Well
I don’t know that my parents would agree with that, and I don’t know if I would
agree with that universally to any situation, but I think in most situations, I
have a way that I could get help if I needed to.”
Tracy
Cutchlow, a parent and local Seattleite, answered viewers’ free-range
parenting questions on Q13 Fox This Morning (5/1). She wrote an article for the
Washington Post, “Would you call 911 on another parent?”. Her approach brings
family and community to the forefront of how to handle a situation where you,
as a parent, might feel uncomfortable, and how to help. Check out the Q13 Fox Facebook page to see the questions she answered after her live segment.
For
more parenting advice, follow Tracy on twitter and read more about her book,
Zero to Five.
My mom left me in the car to run in and grab milk from the grocery store when I was pretty little, maybe 6. Another mom saw me sitting in the car alone and called 911. I was WAY more tramatized by having the police question me about my moms parenting abilites etc. than I was by being left in the car. I still like to tease my mom about it.
ReplyDeleteDarien, this is an awesome blog. Love it! You're superwoman