After a Virginia mom’s child abuse registry story went viral, plans for appeal found her telling her side of the story: “We need to stop parenting from a place of fear …”
(Video Credit: Fox News)
Last week, Karyann Parkinson’s story went viral after she was convicted of contributing to the delinquency of a minor for letting her five-year-old son, Sam, collect goose feathers near a pond by their home alone. Saturday, she joined Fox News’ “Fox & Friends Weekend” where she addressed the impact on her family and how she isn’t alone in being a victim of bureaucratic overreach.
“I mean, I didn’t send him to play at the pond. I sent him down the path that happens to go past the pond to collect goose feathers … I know that a lot of people have seen the headlines and seen ‘Five-year-old alone at a pond.’ And I think if I saw that in isolation, I’d probably be alarmed too,” she told co-hosts Rachel Campos-Duffy, Charles Hurt and Griff Jenkins. “But what this was, was a five-year-old on a pathway that he’s very familiar with in his neighborhood that he loves, the only place that he can remember ever living.”
“And it just got turned into this whole situation where a lot of people were suddenly intervening and feeling like this was a really drastic parenting choice,” explained Parkinson.
As was reported, in addition to the first-degree misdemeanor for contributing to the delinquency of a minor and a suspended six-month jail sentence, the mother of five, who was pregnant with her youngest child at the time of the incident in June, was placed on the Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Registry for seven years for allowing same to be alone in the gated community.
She told “Fox & Friends Weekend” that the registry prevents her from participating in her children’s classroom activities until Sam reaches sixth grade.
“We need to stop parenting from a place of fear and a place, you know, of obsessing over the unknown or some boogeyman who’s going to jump out from behind a bush,” said Parkinson who recounted that her story’s publication resulted in her hearing from many other parents that faced similar situations.
Meanwhile, according to the non-profit Let Grow, Virginia is one of 13 states with “Reasonable Childhood Independence” as of April 2026
Virginia law states:
“No child whose parent or other person responsible for his care allows the child to engage in independent activities without adult supervision shall for that reason alone be considered to be an abused or neglected child, provided that (a) such independent activities are appropriate based on the child’s age, maturity, and physical and mental abilities and (b) such lack of supervision does not constitute conduct that is so grossly negligent as to endanger the health or safety of the child. Such activities include traveling to or from school or nearby locations by bicycle or on foot, playing outdoors, or remaining at home for a reasonable period of time.”
According to CBS News, Parkinson intends to appeal the conviction come January.
As for Sam, she explained that in addition to being scared when the community security guard brought him home, in the aftermath with CPS and police called to the house, “We had to do a lot of reassuring him and telling him, ‘You didn’t do anything wrong.’ He would ask me, ‘Mom, am I allowed to ride my bike to swim practice? Am I allowed to ride my bike to the tennis courts?'”
“Now it’s just a blip on his radar. It’s not really a part of his life anymore,” the mom told the co-hosts.
While Jenkins voiced hope for an appeal, Campos-Duffy, herself a mother of nine, contended that wasn’t all that was owed to Parkinson, “How about an apology? You’re a good mom.
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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