“It’s 10 pm.  Do you know where your child is?”  Parents of a certain age probably remember that slogan from childhood.  It became embedded in pop culture not only because the accompanying public service announcement ran incessantly, but also because it mildly impugned parents everywhere for not doing their jobs.  For most children, it was inconceivable that their mom or dad wouldn’t know where they were at 10 o’clock at night.  But this commercial hinted otherwise.  It suggested that my parents were possibly fallible.  The slogan also implied that if my parents didn’t know where I was, it was their fault, not mine.  They were the ones who would be trouble with the law, not me (So there!  Stick out tongue, stomp away, and slam bedroom door).

Thirty years later, the LAPD might consider re-running those very PSAs.  With summer upon us, it may be time for at least a parental refresher course on Los Angeles’ curfew laws.

Curfew laws?  Yes, indeed.  It is illegal for children under 18 to be outdoors, in public places, or on the road between 10 pm and sunrise, unless they are accompanied by a parent, on a parent-directed errand, at work, or coming or going directly from home.  And unlike what the 70’s era PSA hinted, curfew violations can result in fines, penalties, and community service for kids, not for their folks.

It’s interesting to consider the intent of this law.  Is it to protect our kids, or protect other people from our kids?  I suspect it’s a little of both.  But the fact of this law made me a little sad.  Our eastside neighborhood bubble often feels a lot like the small town neighborhood I grew up in on the east coast, where on many nights I drove from dances to parties to restaurants (if I-HOP can be considered a restaurant).  I hadn’t realized that when my own kids are 16 or 17, they won’t be able to do that too.

Then I remembered the ridiculous, sometimes dangerous trouble my friends and I got into, and I came up with a new slogan that the LAPD can feel free to use: “You’re under 18 and it’s 10 pm.  Go home.”

This entry was posted on July 13th, 2009 and is filed under Mother Tongue. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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