Helicopter parenting is a Connecticut law. That could be fixed by a new bill.

Gov. Ned Lamont asserts that Connecticut is the most family-friendly in the Union and promises to continue working to make it easier for parents.

He could start by getting rid of the state’s Helicopter Parent Mandate.

Connecticut’s “
Guidelines for leaving your child alone
” are absurdly limiting: “Experts believe a child should be at least 12 before he is left alone, and at least 15 before he can care for a younger brother or sister. These are the minimum ages. These are the minimum ages. Not all children will be ready.

The state cites zero “experts” for this preposterous claim.

Most 10-year-olds can be left alone for a few hours. Most 8-year olds can do the same. Maryland is one of the most restricted states in America.
8-year-olds
You can leave it alone.
Babysitting is possible for 13-year-olds
. The vast majority of civilized countries are much more liberal than that. Connecticut’s guidelines are stricter than anything I have ever seen.

While nonbinding, these guidelines likely terrify some parents, considering Connecticut’s poorly written neglect laws. One Republican and one Democrat lawmakers noted that Connecticut’s neglect laws were not up to the mark.
op-ed
The Connecticut Mirror: “It considers kids neglected if they are ‘without proper care,’ or subjected to conditions or ‘associations’ that are ‘injurious.’ It doesn’t require the authorities to prove the child was in any actual danger.”

That’s why the state representatives, Travis Simms and Tom O’Dea, are pushing a
Reasonable Childhood Independence
bill.

The bill would make it clear that a parent, in most circumstances, can be charged with neglect only if the child engages “in conduct that carries a substantial risk of physical harm.”

As the lawmakers put it, “When kids get the chance to roam the neighborhood, play outside, run errands — the kind of things both of us did — that’s not neglect. That’s how kids start growing up.”

O’Dea and Simms recount nightmare stories of “Connecticut parents being investigated for things like letting their kids, 7 and 9,
Walk a mile to Dunkin Donuts
Super Bowl Sunday:
Take a walk to your home at the end of the day
. One mom was arrested after she allowed her child to go.
The car will wait for an 11-year old
while she ran an errand!”

I know many parents who helicopter their children, not because they fear child abduction, muggers, accidents, but because they fear Child Protective Services.

The need to helicopter and the feeling that you can do it. Must The birthrate is falling due to helicopters. Every year, the public has fewer children. Irrational fear of harming our children is one reason. If we cannot set our children free, parenting can become a time-consuming task.

This Connecticut bill, which is a liberating bill for parents and children, could reverse the baby bust.