'World's Worst Mom' Justifies Why She Let Her 9-Year-Old Ride the Subway Alone

ET sits down with Lenore Skenazy who some are calling "the world's worst mom," after she felt comfortable letting her 9-year-old son ride the New York City subway alone.

[TheChickenForTheWin]

Well that's crap. Here in Germany most students (starting from 1. grade) go to school by bus (not school busses) or train. I bet the abduction rate is lower than in the US.

[lovelysam_]

This is horrible.. Worlds worst mom?! There are parents who actually HURT their children. This mom is giving their children freedom!

[rerecruz]

Why would they say world's worst parents as if she abused and like killed him I think letting a kid ride the subway alone is an awful idea but their making it a bigger deal then it is

[FancyPenguin]

I'm from Chicago and I've been riding the train alone since I was little.

[dreamysunshine]

I was nine years. When i took the bus, i lived near the bus/train station. It was just a 10 minute walk from where my house was. I became independent!

[lpsstar]

You call that bad? That's nothing!!

[bohemianhippee]

First world problems... Just sayin. This is a problem of privilege.

[waterlemon]

"worst mom" 🤦 I'm glad that I don't live in America

[countysecession]

I'd be way more scared of the cops harassing my kids than criminals.

[AH-bfmd]

is this really a topic in the states or is this a satire? i am genuinely asking... can somebody give me a sort of "briefing"?

[devinreis]

Kids in European countries do this all the time. In Ireland, I saw kids walking home from school by themselves. My friends went to Russia, and said they saw kids as young as kindergarten riding the subway home from school without a parent or guardian; my friends went in early June and school hadn't gotten out yet. Maybe that fearing independence is something Americans are doing wrong.

[TehKorwinMikke]

What Lenore is doing - that is the Happy Medium that those presenters should be looking into.

[seorin__]

this is crazy in germany everyone does that at age 9

edit: are they dumb or something???? that boy look at LEAST 9 and they’re shocked about him cutting a tomato??? he’s not 3.

[sheluvgarry]

I’ve been riding the subway I’m only 11

[emmanuelu]

bruh this isnt a parenting problem; its pretty much an american problem. in the rest of the world especially in third world countries even 4 year olds go about doing errands

[kerriewilson]

I thought my mum was the worst thing ever for being over protective even though we had a paedophile living up the street. I didn't see it at the time and a lot of us saw him as an old man who we could get to buy us cigarettes and booze and other things we weren't allowed. He used to buy us things like that then try and touch us up but because there was always a couple of us and we always got away from him pretty quickly once we had what we wanted from him, I didn't realise till I was older how much danger we were actually in. I mean we were thirteen and fourteen going away on the bus and into dark little corners with a man who had a n unnatural thing towards teenage girls

[theundertaker]

That's Not the Worst mom in the world that kids mom is like an angel Compared to mine

[rogerdickens]

Why is someone videotaping the boy being given a metrocard, map, and $20 bill and going down the subway stairs?

[wside]

She's NOT the worst mom ever, she is not abusive but she is delusional, she doesn't hate her kids like manny manny BAD parent, she has a LOT to learn but she loves her child unconditionally like every parent should

[OlafsonN]

In case you see this and don’t know, she was labeled “world’s worst mom” by American media.