09/04/2026
A Virginia mother was sentenced after allowing her child to walk alone to pick up goose feathers.
But as ParentsUSA’s Executive Director David DeLugas asks: “Instead of asking ‘how old was the child,’ we all should instead ask ‘how capable was the child of handling the circumstances?’”
Children aren’t defined by a number. Parents know their children’s abilities, maturity, and limits.
The irrational fears of others including law enforcement and prosecutors should not override the decisions parents make about their own children.