Georgia mom's arrest puts free-range parenting back into spotlight

A mother in Georgia has sparked national debate about how much freedom a child should have when she was arrested after her 10-year-old son was found walking alone.

Brittany Patterson was captured on police body cam video being handcuffed and taken into custody after her 10-year-old son left home alone and was found walking in their small town of Mineral Bluff.

"I was shocked, surprised, disbelief," Patterson, 41, said. "Couldn't really understand what was going on or why. "They told me to put my hands behind my back and then I had to ask to tell my children goodbye."

Patterson was charged with reckless conduct, which ignited a nationwide debate about child independence. After her arrest, the Georgia mother of four made headlines.

People everywhere, including on talk shows, social media and news networks, discussed the appropriate age for children to do things independently.

"If any parent has read any of the Beverly Cleary books Ramona or Henry Huggins, those kids were roaming the neighborhood in a way that we would call free range now," parenting expert Dawn Friedman said. "We used to allow children some freedoms that we no longer allow them. And I don't think that's to their benefit or to ours."

"The crime was that she didn't know where her kid was for a little while because she'd left them at home," blogger and co-founder of “Let Grow” Lenore Skenazy said. "And to her surprise, he didn't stay home. It's just so normal. And to make that into a crime is insane."

Patterson's ordeal began when she left home in late October to take one of her older children to the doctor. Her younger son, Soren, who was nearly 11 at the time, stayed home.

Later that day, the Fannin County Sheriff's Office reported that Soren, who is now 11, walked less than a mile into town to visit the local Dollar General store.

Authorities found him walking alone after a concerned resident called police. Police took Soren, who was unharmed, home, but a few hours later they returned and arrested Patterson in front of her children.

The warrant claims she "...willingly and knowingly endangered her juvenile son's bodily safety." David Delugas, Patterson's attorney, disputes this.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are typically ready to walk alone safely without adult supervision at age 10.

Delugas says that Patterson did not engage in any illegal activities.

Patterson has declined to sign a "safety plan" proposed by Georgia's Division of Family and Children Services, which included using a GPS tracking app on her son's phone.

"If you call a document a safety plan, maybe what's in it ought to make the child more safe," Delugas said. "And by the way, that assumes he was unsafe in the first place, which he was not. Part of why Brittany declines to sign it is he wasn't unsafe."

Last month, the Surgeon General issued an advisory regarding the high levels of stress experienced by parents. The report highlights that 41% of parents feel so stressed on most days that they struggle to function, while 48% report their stress is overwhelming compared to other adults. It notes that the demands on their time and concerns about their children's safety can contribute to this stress.

"I mean, parenting never had to be 24/7 until now," Skenazy said. "I don't blame the parents. I blame this culture that talks endlessly about the impact of every parenting decision in every atom of their kids being."

Skenazy can relate to Patterson's story. Back in 2008, she also divided the country when she let her 9-year-old son take the subway by himself in New York City and published an article about it.

She didn't expect the backlash that followed, but at times was labeled as "America's Worst Mom."

"I finally realized that that was my real crime, was trusting my kid to do something without me," Skenazy said. "Being independent, being out in the world. That was the charge against me."

Skenazy, 17 years later, says she stands by supporting anyone's choice to prioritize their children's independence, believing that independence fosters trust.

"If you actually let your kid do something by themselves: you let them walk to the store, you let them walk the dog, you let them make the pancakes," Skenazy said. "You're allowed to be imperfect if that's what we're going to call it because perfection has never been a requirement for being a parent or a kid."