Authored by Larry Sand via American Greatness,
On Oct. 31, a 41-year-old Georgia mother, Brittany Patterson, was arrested and accused of endangering her son because the unsupervised 10-year-old walked less than a mile away from home. Patterson told NBC News, “It’s not a super dangerous or even dangerous-at-all stretch of road. I wasn’t terrified for him or scared for his safety.”
Despite Patterson’s reassurance, she was arrested, booked on suspicion of reckless conduct, and forced to post bail.
Parenting expert Dawn Friedman criticized the arrest, stating, “We used to allow children some freedoms that we no longer allow them. And I don’t think that’s to their benefit or to ours.”
Lenore Skenazy, the founder of Free-Range Kids, added, “The crime was that she didn’t know where her kid was for a little while because she’d left them at home. And to her surprise, he didn’t stay home. It’s just so normal. And to make that into a crime is insane.”
This case of a government body superseding parents is unfortunately not unique.
Government-run schools frequently overstep their bounds, becoming a child’s co-parent. California’s AB 1955, passed in July, prohibits school districts from informing parents if their child decides to change their gender without their consent.
In San Francisco, teachers can teach intimate gender identity lessons without parental notification.
The Turner School District in Kansas City allowed a preschooler to take home a book where a boy wears girls’ clothes.
“Satan Clubs” are emerging across the country, with one leader in Bakersfield, CA, stating they aim to counter Christian-based clubs.
What can parents do about this?
School choice offers an escape from public schools. States like Florida, Arizona, Utah, and Ohio have expanded private school choice programs.
Hispanic voters support school choice, with over two-thirds of Hispanic parents in favor.
Homeschooling is another alternative. Approximately 3.2 million students are homeschooled in the U.S.
Barbie Rivera, author of Enough Is Enough!, began homeschooling her son after he was wrongly labeled as mentally handicapped by a public school.
For families unable to homeschool, microschools offer a more affordable alternative to traditional public or private schools.
Microschools provide personalized instruction to small groups of students and have gained popularity in states like Florida.
By minimizing the state’s role in our lives, starting with avoiding government-run schools and exploring microschool options, we can protect our children’s well-being and education.
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