American parents split on unsupervised play

A recent case in Virginia has made many parents concerned that giving their kids independence to roam could result in their arrest if a neighbor calls the police. This fear isn’t hypothetical: in our 2025 survey of 25,000 parents in the U.S., half of parents supported Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations when a child is harmed while playing unsupervised. Parents who supported CPS investigations on unsupervised children were less likely to let their kids leave their yard. This represents a real divide in American parenting culture, split between parents who want to keep their own and other people’s children from playing unsupervised, and parents who want their kids to roam free.

by Lyman Stone, Grant Bailey