[Mmckellen]

Some of you may have heard about a 9 year old boy who went missing in Brooklyn on Monday and was found dead this morning. He was a member of a sect of orthodox jews who all dress alike (this is relevant, not stereotyping). It was his first day of walking home alone from camp, and he got lost. His community is very tight and really quite insular so most people who live there feel very safe as they are all very religious people. Sadly this little boy got lost on his way to meet his parents (on his FIRST DAY walking home alone) and asked directions of someone who looked like a member of his community and who quite possibly may have been a member of his community. I won't go into detail because you can google it, but it ended horrifically.

My son always asks when he can walk alone. My answer now is "when you are 15." We used this as a teachable moment about how it is never ok to talk to strangers. It was all over the news and Brooklyn parents, no matter what their affiliation, are in shock. Please hug your kids tonight. This could really have happened to any of us.

[midwife]

There are no words.

[saef]

I've been thinking about this little boy all day.

I was still a child when Etan Patz went missing, and it's a testimony to the enormous public grief & shock over that earlier disappearance that I still to this day remember his name.

I have to paraphrase someone else here: May flights of angels sing them to their rest.

[cottagebythesea]

So very, very tragic.

I don't care how old you are, it's never safe to walk alone.

[Mmckellen]

Right on, Cottage. Literally and figuratively.

[AriesNV]

Absolutely horrific...So sick...That poor little boy.

[Lindy87]

My daughter is 14 and wants to walk places by herself. This is why I don't let. So tragic.

[Mmckellen]

There's a huge issue around being a helicopter parent. For me, I would rather be safe than sorry. My son goes to camp and each day makes decisions about what he will do (choosing activities), what he will eat (school lunch), etc. We don't funnel him into specific activitites after school, etc. but let him choose in his afterschool program what he wants to do. He has a lot of freedom. He does not have to walk by himself to experience freedom. As a woman, I would not want to walk alone in certain areas at night. That's not a freedom issue, it's a safety issue.