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Crime & Safety

MOMS TALK: Latchkey Kids

A weekly starting point for local parents to discuss hot parenting topics.

I was a latchkey kid.

But that was in the '80s, when the world was a kinder, gentler place, right? No, not necessarily, but my Lutherville neighborhood was a pretty easy place to be in. The neighbors knew each other, and the younger kids were often playing outside while the moms chatted—this was before the age of the Internet. If I had encountered a problem while I was alone in my house, one good holler could have brought me help.

Plus, I really liked those hours of solitude and privacy. I could raid the Tastykakes and watch the soap operas I taped on our VCR.

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Today, it seems, is a little different. As an adult, I live in the same Lutherville neighborhood as I did when I was growing up, and while the neighbors are still just as friendly, there is a bit more of a disconnect among us. We are more private, perhaps.

Our windows are closed in the summer because now we have air conditioning. Our kids aren’t roving the streets looking for a game of tag, because they’re more often plugged into a Wii, or participating in social events that are a bit more mom-organized, like a pre-planned play date.

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Is it safe to let your child be a latchkey kid anymore? Was it ever safe? It depends on the kid, for sure. If you’ve got a self-assured, responsible youngster, you might not have to worry about anything more than some missing Tastykakes.

But the most responsible young person can’t change what’s happening in our area. Lately, . Video games, prescription medications and power tools were stolen from several local homes in February. However, on Feb. 22, jewelry and money were stolen from a nearby home; so was women’s underwear. That definitely ups the creep factor.

How do you feel about your children being the first people home in the afternoon? Do you worry they might be the ones to discover the detritus of a crime scene, or worse, surprise a burglar who’s still inside? What if the burglar tries to enter the home while the child is already there? With no car in the driveway, it sure looks like an empty house from the outside.

Weigh in, please, with your opinions and experiences, to answer our question this week: Are latchkey kids safe?

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