A Virginia mother, Karyann Parkinson, is appealing a criminal charge and her placement on the state’s Child Abuse and Neglect Central Registry after her 5-year-old son was found walking alone near a pond in their gated community. Parkinson was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor, a first-degree misdemeanor, and placed on the registry for seven years. She maintains that her son was on a familiar neighborhood path to collect goose feathers and not sent to play at the pond, suggesting that the situation was exaggerated by authorities.

Parkinson, who was eight months pregnant at the time, had her six-month jail sentence suspended, but the charge remains. She expressed understanding of public alarm upon hearing about a child alone near water but sought to clarify that her son was walking on a well-known path in their neighborhood. The most challenging aspect for Parkinson is the seven-year registry placement, which prevents her from volunteering in her son’s classroom until he enters sixth grade. She advocates for a shift away from fear-based parenting and emphasizes the need to reassure her son that he did not do anything wrong.

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