Kidnapping, choking, allergic reaction, injuring himself, falling sick, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc.
Those risks are present if you leave the kid alone with a "babysitter" all day. Better to never leave the kid alone under any circumstances to be as safe as possible.
Better to not have kids at all, or if you do - encase them in bubble wrap until they are 26.
Kidnapping, choking, allergic reaction, injuring himself, falling sick, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc.
Those risks are present if you leave the kid alone with a "babysitter" all day. Better to never leave the kid alone under any circumstances to be as safe as possible.
The difference is the presence, or lack thereof, of a responsible adult who can react quickly.
Kidnapping, choking, allergic reaction, injuring himself, falling sick, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc.
Wow?
Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're still not out to get you.
I could only dream to have a father who took me to triathlons. Back in those days you had to make your own fun, but no way as exciting as a triathlon.
Sitting in a VIP tent for what was likely to be 14+ hours fun for a 9 year-old? Doubtful for many children. Are there risks leaving a child alone for that long? Yes. Are they likely? Probably not. But you never know. I can’t imagine doing that with my kids when they were that age. Ultimately it doesn’t matter what your childhood was like. Times change as do social norms. At the very least, this father showed poor judgment.
It's not really about the kid -- he did nothing wrong. As brave as you were, did your parents ever leave you alone at a public place in a strange town where you knew no one, for 16 hours?
Do you suppose a judge should be persuaded by your anecdote of childhood bravery? Not everyone can be a Kevin McCallister.
I didn't consider myself brave at all. It was completely normal for kids to be free-range among the kids in my area. That's what you guys who didn't grow up free-range don't get. I wasn't anything special. Maybe later in junior high when I was riding my bike on back roads doing 30-mile rides by myself that was a little more "brave", but not really, since 12 is quite a bit older than 9. I just had to have confidence that I was self-sufficient and could fix a flat on my own by the side of the road (which I learned from being a nerd in the library as a kid) because there were no cell phones back then.
If that strange town was in the US or other English-speaking area, I would have been fine at 9. I don't see the difference between riding my bike to the library and spending hours there in my town vs. a strange town. I knew how to use maps. Maps were in every phone booth at the front of the Yellow Pages back then.
Again -- did your parents ever leave you alone at a public place in a strange town where you knew no one, for 16 hours?
Do you think your stories of personal self-confidence would be enough to persuade a judge that your parents were acting responsibly, within the law?
Actually, protective services should intervene and find that kid a foster home. No child, ever, should be exposed to triathlon at any level. It may be too late. Among other social disabilities, he will end up with a Bruce Jenner haircut, wearing jog bras, constantly telling his classmates his O2 levels, sleep patterns, and that, "i don't eat that because... [insert how it affects metabolism, glucose levels, and has the wrong type of protein].
Those risks are present if you leave the kid alone with a "babysitter" all day. Better to never leave the kid alone under any circumstances to be as safe as possible.
The difference is the presence, or lack thereof, of a responsible adult who can react quickly.
Kidnapping, choking, allergic reaction, injuring himself, falling sick, physical abuse, sexual abuse, etc.
Wow?
Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're still not out to get you.
I could only dream to have a father who took me to triathlons. Back in those days you had to make your own fun, but no way as exciting as a triathlon.
I can offer up stories of more "freedom" when I was a kid however I'm not leaving a 9 year old for the length of time it takes to complete a triathlon.
Moving the story to a 9 year old left home. I wouldn't do it as planned as well. Big difference between a few hours after school and 14 hours.
Maybe the kid was accustomed to being left alone and unsupervised. Kids are very adaptable. When I was that age (early 1960s) I was taking public transportation alone to places 10 miles or so away in a fairly large city. I would have been perfectly fine with a book in that kid's situation. He knew where he was and where his father was and was not acting distressed according to the report.
This sounds more like adults projecting their own issues and insecurities into the situation. And they could have pulled the guy off the course without calling the police. That was completely over the top.
Lol, I don't think so. Do kids even read books these days? He could have read War and Peace in the time he was alone.
Give him Once a Runner. I guarantee he couldn't get past three chapters without hating running.
Just because you're paranoid it doesn't mean they're still not out to get you.
I could only dream to have a father who took me to triathlons. Back in those days you had to make your own fun, but no way as exciting as a triathlon.
I can offer up stories of more "freedom" when I was a kid however I'm not leaving a 9 year old for the length of time it takes to complete a triathlon.
Moving the story to a 9 year old left home. I wouldn't do it as planned as well. Big difference between a few hours after school and 14 hours.
The one thing I really worry about is an untended frying pan left on, or the water left running in the bath tub. And both can, and have been done by adults, even sober adults.
I didn't consider myself brave at all. It was completely normal for kids to be free-range among the kids in my area. That's what you guys who didn't grow up free-range don't get. I wasn't anything special. Maybe later in junior high when I was riding my bike on back roads doing 30-mile rides by myself that was a little more "brave", but not really, since 12 is quite a bit older than 9. I just had to have confidence that I was self-sufficient and could fix a flat on my own by the side of the road (which I learned from being a nerd in the library as a kid) because there were no cell phones back then.
If that strange town was in the US or other English-speaking area, I would have been fine at 9. I don't see the difference between riding my bike to the library and spending hours there in my town vs. a strange town. I knew how to use maps. Maps were in every phone booth at the front of the Yellow Pages back then.
Again -- did your parents ever leave you alone at a public place in a strange town where you knew no one, for 16 hours?
Do you think your stories of personal self-confidence would be enough to persuade a judge that your parents were acting responsibly, within the law?
You're imposing your own values onto the situation. You don't really know if the kid was scared or upset about being alone in the VIP tent in an unfamiliar town. You are making assumptions about his feelings and how he experiences his location and surroundings.
Maybe he had gone to other triathlons and he knew the routine and it was familiar to him. Maybe he wasn't stressed at all about being there and he was excited to see his father compete. Maybe he begged his father to go even knowing he would be there alone all day. You just don’t know.
I can offer up stories of more "freedom" when I was a kid however I'm not leaving a 9 year old for the length of time it takes to complete a triathlon.
Moving the story to a 9 year old left home. I wouldn't do it as planned as well. Big difference between a few hours after school and 14 hours.
The one thing I really worry about is an untended frying pan left on, or the water left running in the bath tub. And both can, and have been done by adults, even sober adults.
Looking at the circumstances of the incident, I'm not arresting this guy unless there's other issues...such as the child complaining that he's lost or dad's gone or something like that.
Another perspective is the "if Johnny Johnson jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge....." angle in which it would be impractical for all parents of children under a certain age leaving their kids in the tent for the race organizers.
To me it is a "race control" issue rather than a criminal issue.
Again -- did your parents ever leave you alone at a public place in a strange town where you knew no one, for 16 hours?
Do you think your stories of personal self-confidence would be enough to persuade a judge that your parents were acting responsibly, within the law?
You're imposing your own values onto the situation. You don't really know if the kid was scared or upset about being alone in the VIP tent in an unfamiliar town. You are making assumptions about his feelings and how he experiences his location and surroundings.
Maybe he had gone to other triathlons and he knew the routine and it was familiar to him. Maybe he wasn't stressed at all about being there and he was excited to see his father compete. Maybe he begged his father to go even knowing he would be there alone all day. You just don’t know.
You’re doing the exact same thing in your paragraph. Him being excited about watching his father compete and begging to be brought along is extremely unlikely. You just don’t know.
I was free range at 9 or a little younger and took full advantage of that freedom. Knowing what I was like, I can't imagine being told to sit in a VIP tent for 12+ hours even with a tablet and some snacks. That would have been miserable for me. Maybe this youngster didn't mind but I'm thinking the real offense here isn't child neglect but subjecting the kid to unimaginable boredom.
I didn't consider myself brave at all. It was completely normal for kids to be free-range among the kids in my area. That's what you guys who didn't grow up free-range don't get. I wasn't anything special. Maybe later in junior high when I was riding my bike on back roads doing 30-mile rides by myself that was a little more "brave", but not really, since 12 is quite a bit older than 9. I just had to have confidence that I was self-sufficient and could fix a flat on my own by the side of the road (which I learned from being a nerd in the library as a kid) because there were no cell phones back then.
If that strange town was in the US or other English-speaking area, I would have been fine at 9. I don't see the difference between riding my bike to the library and spending hours there in my town vs. a strange town. I knew how to use maps. Maps were in every phone booth at the front of the Yellow Pages back then.
Again -- did your parents ever leave you alone at a public place in a strange town where you knew no one, for 16 hours?
Do you think your stories of personal self-confidence would be enough to persuade a judge that your parents were acting responsibly, within the law?
Maybe not that specifically "16 hours in public place in a strange town where you knew no one", but age 9 for me was 47 years ago and my memories are not specific, more of the usual routine. We didn't go out of town much. Adding descriptors like "public place" and "strange town" don't make things scarier. We played almost entirely in public places. Other towns are not strange, they are other towns. I was not at all spatially challenged because exploring what we did on our own all the time. A different town is not more unsafe than my own neighborhood.
Like malmo's experience, my personal self-confidence was the normal confidence for all kids my age at that time in my area. And like malmo, we didn't call it free-range back then. I use that because it's the current term and a good description. It was absolutely normal, responsible behavior by parents to have kids unsupervised outside all day, and certainly within the law back then.
There was a shift to thinking kids being outside alone is unsafe around 8 years after me in my family with my younger sister. At last that was when I noticed it. I thought it was just because she was a girl, but apparently it was a societal shift. If you grew up before that, you think about unsupervised kids as normal like me and malmo and other probably Gen X and older posters. If you grew up after that, unsupervised kids is somehow a crime.
It's not like crime suddenly increased. Crime has generally edged downwards since I was growing up. I think it was the increase in media coverage of crime to sell news that make the world seem scarier than it really is.
When my spouse and I did Mt Washington during a trip with our toddler, we found a babysitter to stay with the child through a local running club. It was a matter of a few emails. Not a big deal. Tri-Dad didn't put as much thought into his kid's race prep as his own.
I was free range at 9 or a little younger and took full advantage of that freedom. Knowing what I was like, I can't imagine being told to sit in a VIP tent for 12+ hours even with a tablet and some snacks. That would have been miserable for me. Maybe this youngster didn't mind but I'm thinking the real offense here isn't child neglect but subjecting the kid to unimaginable boredom.
I didn't read any links, but I assume the kid had freedom to roam away from the tent. What's holding him back? Someone said it watched the swim-bike transition, which I assume isn't at a VIP tent. If I were the kid, I would have kept a lower profile, wandered a bit farther, and not talked so much to nosy adults.
Those risks are more likely to happen when left with or by parents and family members.
If you wonder why rekrunner is in complete denial with drug busts this may be it. There are a few synapses short somewhere.
Free range? When I was a child there was no such thing because everyone was free range back then.
At the age of five I had a bike with training wheels. With no supervision and helmets one day my bike got a head of steam on its own on a downhill and suddenly I was riding my bike. The training wheels went off thst day.
It's not quite accurate to accuse me of "complete denial" with drug busts -- I accept that drug busts happen regularly. There are also many athletes accused of taking drugs without being busted, and some athletes admitting taking drugs, who were not busted for it.
With some of the drug busts, I seem to be able to read the fine print better than some others who seem to read things into the busts that were never written.