Robert LeFevre: Is there more danger, or just frightened parents?

Re “Debate on free-range parenting” (Page A4, April 14): From the pictures of the neighborhood in question, it looked delightful. So I was shocked that CPS found the parents guilty of “unsubstantiated neglect” (whatever that is) for letting their kids walk home unsupervised from a park.

What flashed for me was how I got to my monthly orthodontist appointments when I was 10 years old. Living on the east side of Cleveland, I walked a half mile to the rapid transit, took a 30-minute train ride, disembarking in the lower reaches of Terminal Tower in downtown Cleveland. Navigating several flights of stairs and dozens of commuters, I emerged into Public Square. Heading up Euclid Avenue for 14 blocks, managing the elevator to the 10th floor, I finally arrived.

A few tweaks of the hardware, the mandatory admonishment to brush more, and I was off for the return trip.

Was life safer then? There was always the possibility of being grabbed by the bogeyman while running up the stairs from the basement in our home. What I know is that CPS in Montgomery County, Md., appears guilty of substantiated overreach, and scarier than the bogeyman. Life can be a walk in the park, except in Silver Springs.

This story was originally published April 15, 2015 at 5:44 PM with the headline "Robert LeFevre: Is there more danger, or just frightened parents?."