Your tax dollars, keeping kids safe!
1. Mom jailed for letting 9-year-old play at park unsupervised.
South Carolina single mom Debra Harrell allowed her daughter, 9, to play at a popular park for three days this summer. This was after the girl's laptop was stolen and she didn't want to just sit at mom's job -- McDonald's -- all day. A "Good Samaritan" saw the girl unsupervised and called 911. The mom was jailed overnight. The girl spent 17 days in care of the state.
2. Government bulldozes beloved special needs playground.
A Seattle playground designed for kids with special needs was destroyed because it presented "extreme dangers"... even though over the course of its 10 year history, no child was seriously injured on it.
3. Rhode Island proposes law: "Your sixth grader can't get off the school bus without a chaperone waiting.
Law H-7578 would require kids up to age 12 to have an adult waiting at the bus stop to walk them home each afternoon. If no adult was present, the child would be bused back to school. (Proposal withdrawn after widespread jaw-dropping.)
4. Cops interrogate mom who let 6-year-old play within view of house.
Cops interrogated an Austin mom whose son, 6, was spotted playing alone outside his home. A Child Protective Services rep then questioned the mom's three kids separately, asking the daughter, 8, if she had ever seen movies with people's private parts. "My daughter, who didn't know that things like that exist, does now," said the mom, afterward. "Thank you, CPS."
5. Boy, 8, skips church to play. Dad arrested.
A Blanchester, OH, boy who was supposed to get on the bus to church played hooky and instead went to the local dollar store a half mile from his house. For this, his dad was arrested and charged with child endangering. When the story hit the local papers, he lost his job. The charge carries a possible six months in jail.
6. Mom in restaurant charged with breastfeeding after drinking alchohol.
A stay-at-home mom from Toad Suck, AK (for real!), was out to dinner with her parents. She ordered a drink and proceeded to breastfeed her baby. An off-duty waitress called the cops, who arrested the mom for endangering the welfare of a child. Charges were later dropped.
7. Consumer product safety commission recalls sneakers due to dangerous grommets.
The government recalled 12,000+ Runestone children's sneakers because the grommets can have "sharp edges." How sharp? The CPSC reports one adult "who scratched or cut his finger. No medical attention was required."
8. Long Island politician tells student, 17: "No one who lives in our hamlet should ever ride a bicycle."
That was Suffolk County (NY) Legislator Thomas Barraga's helpful response to a young man who wrote to ask him to try to make the roads safer, after his mom and four of his classmates had been hit by cars while biking or walking.
9. Authorities file warrant to give teen an erection.
Authorities in Manassas, VA, arrested a 17 year old for sexting with his girlfriend, 15. For evidence, they photographed his penis. Unsatisfied, they obtained a warrant to give him an erection-inducing drug and take another picture. A guilty verdict for distributing "child porn" could put this young man in prison till age 21.
10. Authorities withdraw penis demands.
After news of the department's penis-picture plans hit the press, the cops let the warrant expire. But in many states, teens can still be charged as child pornographers for sexting.