Mom jailed for letting 10-year-old walk alone to town
reason.com
It was dinnertime on October 30, 2024, when police handcuffed Brittany Patterson in front of three of her four children and drove her to the station in

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/21954268

Mom Jailed for Letting 10-Year-Old Walk Alone to Town

“I was not panicking as I know the roads and know he is mature enough to walk there without incident,” says Brittany Patterson.

  • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
    31·
    8 days ago

    No I mean even if you’re not supposed to bring a phone, how is the school going to know if it stays in a closed backpack, turned off.

    The spirit of the rule is that kids shouldn’t use the phone at school or let it distract others, but that is nebulous to interpret and enforce whereas “don’t bring it” is easier to enforce.

    • GladiusB@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      8 days ago

      My kid used to bring his Pokemon cards to school until someone stole a kids collection and then they were returned but they put out a notice saying no Pokemon cards.

      Now can they check every backpack? No. Do kids talk? Very much yes. So if some kid brought it to school everyone would know.

      I heard his teacher say “phones are not allowed at school and it’s very serious.” I am guessing it’s theft related and they cannot be held liable if some kid loses their phone worth hundreds of dollars if it’s stolen.

      • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
        1·
        8 days ago

        Yes, exactly. They don’t want you to bring a phone for those reasons, but if the parent/kid understand the reason behind the rule, as well as the risks and responsibilities entailed in going against it, it’s not going to hurt anyone to bring one and not use it or talk about it. But the school could never say this is allowed because they don’t want to undermine the rule for all those reasons.

        • GladiusB@lemmy.worldEnglish
          1·
          8 days ago

          I think they can make rules like that. Where else would a child learn that they have to adhere to authority? Do I want my kid losing his phone because some other kid has a problem understanding that it’s not theirs? No I don’t. I hear what you are saying but I do agree with the rules.

          • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            1·
            8 days ago

            Sounds reasonable. You’d have to weigh the pros of having a phone at school (not many) against the cons (many)

            But at some age it’s good to learn that authority isn’t absolute

          • sem@lemmy.blahaj.zoneEnglish
            1·
            6 days ago

            You lost me. I’m talking about how schools can’t/shouldn’t tell you you can’t bring a phone to school when what they really care about is that you aren’t seen with one and don’t use it. (And if someone steals it that’s obviously on you).