Stop helicopter-parenting other people's kids

We've reached the point where parenting "mistakes" are being reported to the cops

1950s kids
(Image credit: (ClassicStock/Corbis))

Surely the joys of parenthood include all the happy occasions to judge other parents inferior. But should we arrest them?

This week Salon published a heartrending story by a mother who let her child play with an iPad in the car while she went into a store for a few minutes. It was about 50 degrees outside. Some bystander decided to videotape the incident, and then, without confronting her, filed a police report. A warrant was put out for the mother's arrest for contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

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Michael Brendan Dougherty

Michael Brendan Dougherty is senior correspondent at TheWeek.com. He is the founder and editor of The Slurve, a newsletter about baseball. His work has appeared in The New York Times Magazine, ESPN Magazine, Slate and The American Conservative.