Debra Harrell, a McDonald's employee in South Carolina was unable to find daycare for her nine-year-old daughter. She took her to work with her and had her play on a laptop throughout the course of her shift. After the laptop was stolen, her daughter asked if she could go and play in the park so her mom sent her off with a cellphone.  For two days, the girl played in the busy park with about 40 other kids. On the third day, an adult asked her where her mom was to which the child responded "at work". The adult immediately called the police who declared the little girl abandoned and arrested her mother. Wow. Really? When did it become a crime to let our children play in the park alone?  She is 9 years old! A far cry from letting a toddler wander unsupervised. An arrest in such a case would be justifiable, but a nine-year-old girl? Now that's just ludicrous. How many of us have fond memories of roaming the streets for hours on end, only coming home for dinner and then heading right back out there until the street lights came on? I'm sure we were out there for much longer than the duration of Debra's shift. This is definitely a case of an overbearing, anxious and overprotective nation. Arresting and jailing a mom for allowing her daughter to play at the park while she is at work is insane. Do you think arresting this mom was a justifiable action or just downright ridiculous? photo courtesy of TopBudapestOrg/Flickr