Promoting Childhood Independence and Resilience Act of 2026

The Congress finds the following:

(1) American families are being investigated and criminalized under overzealous civil and criminal child neglect laws for letting their children develop resilience and independence. State child protective services agencies are burdened by frivolous reports that undermine reasonable childhood independence, parental rights, and family integrity, and subject children and their caregivers to the trauma of unnecessary and invasive government investigations.

(2) In Illinois, a woman was cited for child neglect for inadequate supervision after allowing her 11-, 9-, and 5-year-old children to play in a park near their home.

(3) In Maryland, a couple was found responsible for unsubstantiated child neglect after allowing their 10- and 6-year-old children to play outside and walk home by themselves.

(4) In Georgia, a mother was arrested and accused of reckless conduct when her 10-year-old son walked a mile away from their home without telling anyone.

(5) In South Carolina, a mother was arrested for unlawful conduct towards a child for allowing her 9-year-old daughter to play alone at a popular, kid-filled park.

(6) In North Carolina, a couple was charged with felony involuntary manslaughter and child neglect when a driver hit their 7-year-old son and killed him while walking home from a nearby grocery store. They were held on $1,500,000 bonds each.

(7) In Virginia, Child Protective Services investigated a couple numerous times for allowing their three children to play unsupervised outside, telling the parents that the children need to always be supervised, even in their own bedrooms.

(8) In Pennsylvania, a single mother of two was placed on her State’s child abuse registry after tasking her 13-year-old brother to babysit her 1-year-old child.

(9) State legislators who have supported State legislation to promote childhood independence have recounted being stopped in their own parenting decisions out of fear of child protective services or police intervention. Examples include Michigan State Senator Jeff Irwin’s decision to allow a third grader to walk to their nearby school, Colorado State Representative Kim Ransom’s decision to run into a gas station to pay for gas during a snowstorm and leave kids in the van, and South Carolina Senator Wes Climer’s decision to allow a 5-year-old child to be outside in his own yard. In hearings on State legislation across the country, Democrat and Republican legislators remarked on growing up with much more freedom to play, roam, and run errands without constant adult management of their whereabouts and activities.

(10) Children spend 50 percent less time in unstructured outdoor actives than children in the 1970s. The average American child spends 4 to 7 minutes a day outside in unstructured play.

(11) Less than 25 percent of children between ages 6 and 17 reach the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity each day, and childhood obesity has tripled since the 1970s.

(12) Cross-age interactions have been shown to develop social skills and the ability to learn.

(13) The percentage of teens who meet up with their friends almost every day has been on a steady decline since the 1980s.

(14) Face-to-face socializing between teenagers has fallen by over 45 percent from 2003 to 2022.

(15) More than half of Generation Z report that as children they felt lonely at least once or twice a month—nearly double the reported number of Baby Boomers when they were young.

(16) According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are spending an average of 7 hours a day on entertainment media, including phones, electronic devices, and television.

(17) Excessive screen time for young children increases the risk of attention and behavioral problems, poor sleep, anxiety, depression, aggression, and hyperactivity.

(18) As childhood independence and free play have decreased over the decades, the percentage of children suffering from anxiety and depression has increased. The rates of teens with Major Depressive Disorder and Generalized Anxiety Disorder rose by at least 5-fold from 1950 to 1990.

(19) Pediatric hospitalizations due to mental health increased by 25 percent between 2009 and 2019.

(20) Early screen use has been found to lower academic performance.

(21) The United States Department of Health and Human Services has prioritized reducing the amount of time that children spend on screens, citing it as a key health improvement priority.