Iowa Mom Arrested After Sending Kids to the Store - in Blizzard Conditions

Okay, the eight year old I see being questionable, but I remember being 12-14 and walking with my stepsister to the store on the corner in blizzard conditions. Granted, we weren't sent, we were allowed to go, having pestered my father until he probably would've been glad to have us get lost in the storm, but still.

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Ok, I think we've gone too far here. How many parents have been in this situation: "Mom, we want snacks" "No, there's a blizzard outside" "But we're huuuuuuuungry" " Sorry, if you want snacks so bad, go yourself". Which sounds like just what these kids did. Besides, here in good old NYC, the mayor keeps schools open in terrible weather conditions so we have 5 year olds walking to school in dangerous weather. It really seems that all of parents rights to parent are being stripped away, bit by bit.

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Why does an 8 year old child need a snack at 10:00 pm? He should be in bed asleep. I don't think this merits arresting the mother but it's extremely bad parenting.

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So was it the time of day? Is there a rule that children can not walk in the street? How does one know when to let a 14 yr old go out and check her horse or call her dog or all the other one block away sort of duty's Children should have, like walking to the store..? Let the Mother alone there was no harm and it could be argued forever weather the danger was real or imagined.

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Sloppy parenting, especially the 10PM part, but none of the government's business. One block in a blizzard at zero degrees? Big deal! As a kid I would have relished every second of it. It is not up to others to impose their subjective standards onto fellow citizens. Unless the kids were injured, the parent's judgement in this case cannot really be called wrong. At most, maybe a ride for the kids home in the police car and a word of advice to the mother should have been the end of it.

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I think the police need to spend their time on real criminals, and leave families alone . this doesn' t sound like abuse or neglect to me.

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I remember playing outside when it was 22 below zero. This does not sound like child abuse, this sounds like the ever-encroaching Nanny State thinking of more ways to arrest people and take away their children.

Little by little we lose our freedom.

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This is just Iowa winter fun. School was probably canceled and the kids had been inside all day. They were probably going to stay up late and have some fun watching movies and eating junk food. Sidewalks are covered so of course you walk in the street. Barely any traffic and whoever is out is driving slow. I walked all over my town after blizzards. Nothing more fun than walking in the snow at night when all is quiet. I had to walk a good mile to and from middle school every day in winter temps-sometimes 10 and 20 below. If I forgot my gloves-Oh well. My parents were never arrested and both were teachers. Others would be shocked at the conditions midwest schools send their sports teams out in buses to play games. Just the way of the plains in the winter.

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I had a newspaper route when I was 10. I remember delivering newspapers in rain, snow, - 50 F wind chill. I did this for 7 years.

Here is my question, how did the cops find the kids out on the street? Were they out on their way to to doughnut shop?

The mom wasn't even being a bad parent. She allowed her kids to make a choice that was relatively harmless. They made their choice. Yes, this is the nanny state going too far.

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Well heck, I grew up in northern Michigan. Had to walk to and from school in blizzard-like conditions if the bus didn't show up or I missed it, beginning around age 9. Or I would walk several miles to my mother's work because I didn't feel like waiting at school.

Why are we such a nation of worrywarts nowadays? 10 pm is no big deal; 3 am is.

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thats a crock of $hit Ide hate to see that cop in alaska or canada were they walk out in worse crap than that. that cop is just a dead beat jerk and needs to get a damn life and mind his own! This is why im not american im just white

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Ok so I know its been used so many times but gotta say it lol why when i was a kid we had to walk to school uphill both ways with no socks or shoes on in minus 20 degrees weather with the blizzard goin on

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Ridiculous governmental intrusion. I hope a good attorney takes her case pro bono. Like nearly all the other commenters here, I walked back and forth to middle school from age 10 and up, which was a mile and a half one way, and the weather conditions were irrelevant. Wind chills well below zero were common in Pittsburgh winters. Maybe the 8-year-old was up a bit past what some of us consider a reasonable bedtime, but that's a parenting decision, and the 14-year-old is certainly old enough to "babysit". I wonder if the police have some vendetta against this particular mother.

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OH COME ON!!!! The govenment is totally out of control. Next they will be throwing parents in jail for giving their kids pop. This country is in need of a serious wakeup call.

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The thing is, had the children been overwhelmed by the storm, a lot of comments would have asked where were the protectors

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This is ridiculous.. We used to "play" outside in the snow sledding etc on nights that school was closed.... How incredibly crazy the times are geting that a mom would be "charged" criminally for something like this???

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what with a blizzard, no traffic tickets could be writen. So guess what?

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Heck, my brother went through the rattlesnake patch and got attacked by a 6 ft rattler. Our dogs jumped it to save his life and sure messed up theirs.

Just another day in Texas to us kids.

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Bad parenting =! Child endangerment.

I'm even questioning the fact that it was bad parenting. It's a block away. My god, it would have been MORE dangerous to drive to the store.

The mom's all right in my books.

To the cop: Man up, Nancy.

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