Letting children play alone outside could be a crime in the US
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Mallerie Shirley was investigated by a county agency after allowing her six-year-old son to ride his scooter alone to a nearby playground in Atlanta.
PHOTO: KENDRICK BRINSON/NYTIMES
Ian Frisch
- Parents in the US face investigations or legal trouble for letting young children play or travel alone due to vague child-neglect laws and heightened fears about child safety.
- Fear of abduction and helicopter parenting over decades have reduced children's independence, leading to increased anxiety and depression among kids.
- New laws in 13 states and a proposed federal bill aim to protect children's rights to independence, but challenges and risks remain in balancing safety and autonomy.
AI generated
UNITED STATES – Mallerie Shirley knew something was wrong the second she saw her then six-year-old son walk through the front door. It was November 2025, and he had just returned from riding his scooter to a playground about 400m from their home in Atlanta.
She remembers how he looked: shoulders slouched, eyes cast downwards. She asked him what happened.
