I love being able to send my 13 and 10 year old sons to the park with friends without me breathing down their necks the entire time. It is hard for this very anxious mom to give them freedom to roam they deserve, desire and NEED! Especially if you know my oldest, who is awesome but has had trouble being aware of his surroundings and safety issues.

Sadly, this may have to stop due to silly rules. The park sign states 12 and under need an adult but I figure if my THIRTEEN and 1/2 year old is there with the slightly younger kids with my permission, that's ok. The security guard stopped and approached him and a friend and told them 16 and under need adult supervision... (while also not saying anything to 2 young girls that I'm nearly 100% positive are not 16). My husband was nearby and spoke with him, stating the sigb says 12 and under to which the guy responded something about having in a request for a new sign.

If these kids were defacing property or doing illegal or harmful things, I could see there being a problem. But I guarantee these two boys were walking around, just talking amd telling stories, spending time together, outside, away from all the screens we all desperately want our kids to spendless time in front of. Human interaction. Not being deliquents. Just being kids. And I guarantee they were doing nothing wrong, because my husband was maybe a stone's throw away fishing with the younger boys and could see the older ones - even if he wasn't babysitting their every move, he knew they were not doing anything wrong.

Why should my husband or I or their friends' parents need to constantly be right there supervising? Especially when they are responsible kids who are expected to grow up and be responsible, contributing members to society. We can't just expect that the say they turn 16, they can all of a sudden be without parental supervision. It comes over time, with opportunities to explore and be kids.

Just so frustrating.
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