Kay Eskridge is a Kentucky mom, former child protective services worker, and fan of the Free-Range Kids movement. Over the years, she’s written to me several times about our shared passion for fostering kids’ independence. This includes a note she sent in 2021 saying that a 7-year-old riding her bike in their quiet Louisville neighborhood had been stopped by cops who wanted to know where her mother was.
But earlier this summer, it happened to Eskridge’s own kid.
“The police were called because my 8-year-old was riding her bike on our street,” says Eskridge.
Her note arrived in my inbox recently. Subsequently, we connected over a Zoom call. She set the scene: Her daughter, Julia, had just finished second grade. Thanks to a weird schedule, Julia arrives home two hours before her friends. That leaves her bored and eager for fun by late afternoon. On May 18, when at last a friend had made it home, Julia hopped on her bike to ride eight houses over to his place.
“She was three houses away,” says Eskridge, “and the police stopped her.”
The policeman was actually someone the family knew. (Eskridge’s husband is in local politics.) He told the girl that “this isn’t a good time to be outside,” according to Eskridge. Julia assured the officer that she was used to traffic and knew how to ride her bike, and continued on her way.
The officer left her alone but decided to pay a visit to the Eskridge house.
Her husband answered the door, but when Eskridge heard what was going on, she took matters into her own hands.
“I was not about to let him handle this,” she says. “So I come bursting through and say, ‘Can a child not ride her bike on the street in this neighborhood anymore? Is that what we’re saying?'”
The policeman assured her no, it wasn’t that. Rather, a woman had called the police because she was “upset that a child was outside.”
Hellbound and Down 