LETTER: The danger of children walking alone

I disagree with the RJ’s Saturday editorial supporting the Virginia mother’s decision to let her five-year-old son walk to a pond a half mile away to collect goose feathers. I was much more of a “free range” mother than “helicopter” as I felt giving age appropriate responsibility helped develop independence in a growing child. However, I don’t believe that letting a five-year-old walk alone to a pond a half mile away is responsible parenting.

Without additional information, I do agree that the suspended sentence of contributing to the delinquency of a minor seems excessive. However, the Review Journal ended their opinion article with the Patrick Henry quote, “I know not what course others will take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death.” They intend it to apply to the mother’s rights, but it could as easily foreshadow the fate of the five-year-old who wandered to close to the pond.