Congressman Blake Moore says he has introduced bill to say unsupervised outdoor play isn't child neglect

Congressman Blake Moore said he has introduced legislation to clarify that unsupervised outdoor play in neighborhoods "does not constitute neglect," aiming to reduce what he described as growing parental anxiety and calls to child protective services.

"When I was a kid, I used to roam the neighborhood all the time with my buddies," Moore said, using a personal anecdote to illustrate why he views outdoor unstructured play as important. He said children today "are spending more time indoors" and "more time on screens," framing those trends as part of the problem his bill targets.

Moore described the proposal as "a very simple piece of legislation" designed "to clarify that unsupervised play outdoors in the neighborhood ... does not constitute neglect." He said the clarification would "encourage states to promote good types of healthy play" and ease what he called "heightened" nervousness among parents who fear being reported to child protective services for ordinary roaming or unstructured play.

Moore did not provide a bill number, committee referral, or a legislative timeline in his remarks. He urged listeners to "take a look at the details on it," and said the measure is important to him personally: "I've got 4 boys" and he wants them to "learn independence."

The remarks consisted of an announcement and advocacy for the introduced measure; no committee action, vote, or formal outcome was given during the recorded remarks.