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“Free-range” parents are fighting for their kids to walk home from school alone

Proponents of "free-range parenting" argue that as the world has gotten safer, kids are no longer allowed to just be kids.

Erin Carson wants her 7-year-old first-grader to walk home from the school bus alone. But the school board in Cinnaminson, New Jersey, won’t let that happen.

The district's transportation policy requires that parents meet their kids at the bus stop. That’s not only an inconvenience for Carson; it also goes against the way she wants to parent.

Carson is part of the growing “free-range parenting” movement: parents who reject what they see as a culture that unnecessarily coddles kids. They argue that as the world has gotten safer, kids are no longer allowed to just be kids.

“Free-range parenting is about allowing your child to fall down and allowing them experiences where they can learn firsthand, not hovering and telling them,” Carson told VICE News. “Children don't learn by telling.”

In March, Utah became the first state in the U.S. to pass a “free-range parenting” law. It gives parents the choice to allow their kids to do things alone, like play in a park or walk to school, without the fear of being taken to court for neglect. Groups in New York and Texas say they're working with lawmakers on similar legislation.

This segment originally aired April 25, 2018, on VICE News Tonight on HBO.