Boy, 6, Takes Family Minivan Out on Grocery Run

My kid didn't take my car (In the middle of the night) until he was fourteen. Late bloomer I guess.

Sendai! He's only S*I*X! You know, 4 short of 10? 6 doesn't think beyond the moment. 6 is incapable of being charged with any crime in the majority of the US. 6 is a C*H*I*LD! A car theif? Good googly moogly - next you'll want him doing hard time with Bubba and DeWayne! You obviously have no children. Of course you don't get it.

Wow what a genius you are. How many 6 year olds do you know that know how to operate a motor vehicle? Do you always state the obvious?

You must not have kids. Parents need to sleep too. As a parent you can secure the doors at night, leave the keys up high... Kids are smart, they get this thing called a chair and they have a plan. I have had my 2 year old get up at midnight and unlach the door (the latch was 5 foot two inches high). He wanted to go outside and play. Thank goodness I get up easily in the middle of the night. Not everyone can. As for the food, they could have had food in the house but the 6 year old may have decided upon other unavaiable food. Kids are like that.

Actually...I am willing to bet that he plays racing games. AND I do not think that he used the gas at all, rather that the torque was what was moving the vehicle.

Every parent has a moment when their kid does something that they NEVER expected. They are HUMAN, they are not omnipotent, they cannot predict that their child will decide to "be like mommy" and just go to the store.
I was laying down sick one day, and my youngest child was in the kids tv room watching cartoons. He was the same age as this child, and did not have school that day. We had food in the house, but he wanted pancakes. Rather than come tell me this, he decided to walk to the nearby school to get some. Imagine my shock when the school calls me to tell me he was there. I told them he most certainly was not, he was home! I have 4 children, he is the youngest. None of my other children ever did anything like that. Did I have rules about walking alone? Absolutely. Did I teach him that he needed to always have me, daddy or one of his older siblings with him when he was outside? Yep. Did I teach him about strangers and cars and crossing roads? Sure. Was the school close? Uh Huh. Was mommy sick? Yeah. You are 6, what would you do? Can you remember being 6?

People with no experience with children have a tendency to jump on the BLAME wagon, and fail to understand that children have brains. They are people, and they DO make decisions. They are not dogs, to be told "stay" and then be expected to do so. They go off and do their own thing sometimes, it is how we, as humans, learn. They scare the hell out of their parents, and find out that thats a bad thing and don't ever repeat it! At the same time you have to understand that this little guy is trying to do something nice for his parents by letting them sleep...BAD!!! VERY BAD!!! but his heart was in the right place.

I feel for these parents, and I wish society would stop being so hateful and judgmental. Parents have a hell of a job, and NOTHING is worse than losing a child, we do everything we can to keep our kids safe. But we cannot be on them every minute of every day. For one, it is impossible, and for 2 the children would never learn how to function. They DO have to leave home one day. What would your childhood have been like if mom and dad were there watching you every single minute. Baths, toilet, dates, school, the whole nine. So stop saying "where were the parents" and start realizing it is NEVER that simple.