Poll: Majority Think Letting 9-Year-Old Play Without Supervision Should Be Illegal
Philip Wegmann /
A South Carolina woman, Debra Harell, was arrested last month for letting her daughter play unsupervised in the park.
According to a new poll released by Reason magazine, the majority of Americans agree that it should be illegal to leave children unattended at the park.
>>> Mom Put in Jail For Letting 9-Year-Old Play in Park Alone
The national poll finds that 68 percent of Americans would make unsupervised child’s play for kids under 9 years old at a public park illegal. An opposing 28 percent believe children younger than 9 should be allowed to play in a public park unaccompanied by a parent.
According to the poll, party politics doesn’t reflect a disparity. Democrats and Republicans seem to agree for the most part that children should remain under the close eye of an adult.
As children grow older, the demographics shift slightly: 53 percent of Americans believe 12 year old children should be allowed to play unsupervised in the park, while 43 percent believe they should not.