Indiana
Our childhoods were awesome. Let’s legalize kids playing outside. | Opinion
We loved our free-range childhoods. Now we’re fighting to make sure Hoosier parents won’t get arrested for giving their kids the same freedom.
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It’s tempting to think Democrats and Republicans can’t agree on anything these days, but the two of us wholeheartedly agree on this:
Our childhoods were awesome.
In fact, we loved our childhoods so much, we are co-sponsoring a bill that would ensure Indiana parents can let their kids enjoy their childhoods just as much. Under our bill, parents can let their kids play outside, walk to the store, romp in the woods and stomp in the rain without worrying that this wonderful independence could be mistaken for neglect.
The so-called “Reasonable Childhood Independence” bill has been passed in 11 states so far — red, blue, and purple. It is not a free pass for abusive parents. It is reassurance for all decent Hoosiers that they don’t have to worry about being investigated or arrested for giving their kids some unsupervised time.
House Bill 1035 simply says that “neglect” is when you put your child in obvious and serious danger — not anytime you take your eyes off them. This helps parents who want to give their kids a longer leash. And it helps parents in poverty who have little choice but to do so — for instance, a single mom working two jobs who lets her kid come home with a latchkey.
It also helps all the parents desperate to get their kids off screens: You take away the phone — and open the door.
Our own childhoods were as outdoors and free range as they come. Jake grew up in Michiana, running around, looking for trees to build tree houses in. Other times he’d jump on his bike and go to the ballpark with friends, or go get a burger or even, yes, some Big League Chew.
Victoria biked all over the place, too — after telling her parents where she was heading. (No cell phones back then.) There was a hill everyone loved to ride down and a 7-Eleven where she’d go with her friends for lunch, which consisted of … a Slurpee. Yes, your elected representatives made some slightly suboptimal choices as kids. That’s part of growing up. It was a magical time.
It was also foundational. Jake works in commercial construction when he’s not legislating. He credits the give-and-take of those unsupervised ballgames with building the client skills he uses to this day. (And maybe the tree houses launched his career in construction.)
Victoria went on to become an associate professor and program director in occupational therapy at Indiana University. Working with young kids, she has seen the slow decline in developmental milestones as the run-around childhood got replaced by a sedentary, screen-based one.
That’s another reason we are so keen to pass this bill. Autonomy isn’t something “nice” to have. It is crucial. We all know about the youth mental health crisis. Let’s make it at least as easy for kids to go outside as it is for them to go online.
Some people may think the reason a supervised, structured childhood has become so normal is because the crime rate is so high. But the murder rate today is lower than it was in the 1970s, ‘80s and ‘90s.
The Reasonable Childhood Independence bill allows parents to decide for themselves when their kids are ready to do some things on their own.
“As parents, you have a good understanding of where your children are on their level of responsibility,” says Rep. Ryan Lauer, Vice Chair of the House Family and Children Committee, who is also co-sponsoring this bill.
And yet we’ve all heard the stories of decent parents being investigated simply because they didn’t hover — like that mom in Georgia, Brittany Patterson, arrested in 2024 because her 10-year-old walked to town without telling her. Or that mom in South Carolina, Debra Harrell, a few years back. She let her daughter, 9, play at a popular sprinkler park while she worked her shift at McDonald’s. For this, Harrell was thrown in jail and had her daughter taken from her for 17 days.
As parents, we shudder at the thought of overreach like that. We also shudder at the thought of child abuse. By narrowing the definition of neglect, our law gives hardworking Department of Child Services personnel more time to focus on the kids who are truly in danger.
Hoosier parents deserve the freedom to take their eyes off their kids when they know their kids are ready. Hoosier kids deserve to enjoy that freedom. And if they use it to make a tree house or drink a Slurpee for lunch, well, that’s not against the law.
Rep. Jake Teshka represents Indiana’s 7th District (St. Joseph, Marshall and LaPorte counties). Rep. Victoria Garcia Wilburn represents Indiana’s 32nd District (Marion and Hamilton counties).
Undefeated Indiana is the story of college football, and the guys try to explain how Curt Cignetti pulled it off while arguing about Fernando Mendoza’s upside and “aura.” They also break down the Bills moving on from Sean McDermott and the Titans bringing in Robert Saleh, and they have a completely normal conversation about button-down shirts and locker-room drip.
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MIAMI — Less than eight hours after winning the College Football Playoff National Championship, Indiana football lost an important piece to its staff.
Derek Owings, the Hoosiers’ director of athletic performance, is leaving the program for the University of Tennessee, according to multiple outlets. CBS Sports first reported the news.
The 32-year-old Owings is viewed as one of the nation’s best strength and conditioning coaches. He received a new contract in May of 2025 that paid over $900,000 and made him one of college football’s highest-paid strength coaches.
Indiana coach Curt Cignetti hired Owings to his staff in 2020 at James Madison University, and he completed his sixth season working under Cignetti in Monday night’s national championship victory.
Owings earned FootballScoop.com’s strength and conditioning coach of the year award in 2025.
Cignetti often credited Owings for the Hoosiers’ on-field success, and Owings earned specific praise for developing receiver Omar Cooper Jr.’s core strength after the redshirt junior’s acrobatic, physics-defying, game-winning catch against Penn State during the regular season.
Indiana’s players often touted Owings’ weight room process throughout the season. Strength and conditioning, Cignetti said in 2024, has become very scientific — and Owings is on the cutting edge. He delivered “great results,” said Cignetti, who added he didn’t mess with Owings.
“I know the players really like what we’re doing down there,” Cignetti said in February of 2024. “He changes their bodies. He’ll cut a lot of body fat, still add lean muscle mass, quicker, stronger, faster, more explosive. I’ve seen the results. You look at the GPS numbers sort of here last year, relative to maybe where we were the year before. He’ll make ’em faster.”
Cignetti called Owings a “winning edge,” long before the Hoosiers proved it on the field.
“I think he’s a big part of what we do,” Cignetti said. “That’s why I do everything I can to keep him on the roster, pay him as well as I can, because he makes a difference. Fast and physical. It starts down in that weight room with the development, the body development, of each and every guy.”
Indiana reached contract extensions with offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines before starting the College Football Playoff, and Cignetti said he hoped to give extensions to the rest of the staff after the season.
Now, the Hoosiers will have to turn their attention elsewhere and find a replacement for Owings, who served Cignetti well for six seasons.
Indiana
Trump cheered by CFP national championship game crowd during national anthem at Indiana-Miami clash
President Trump was cheered by sports fans Monday as he attended the College Football Playoff National Championship in Miami.
Trump waved to the crowd from a suite at Hard Rock Stadium during the singing of the national anthem ahead of the game between the Miami Hurricanes and Indiana Hoosiers.
The president’s daughter, Ivanka Trump, and at least three of his grandchildren were spotted in the suite with the commander-in-chief.
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Kai Trump, the daughter of the president’s eldest son Don Jr. and an incoming University of Miami golfer, wore a cast on her arm and smiled as the camera focused on Trump’s booth.
“Melania and I congratulate the Indiana Hoosiers and the Miami Hurricanes on making it to the College Football Playoff National Championship,” the president said in a statement released by the White House.
“God bless the talented players and dedicated coaches, the families who love and support them, and the faithful fans who cheer them on,” Trump added. “May the best team win!”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a Miami native and Hurricanes fan, was seen on the sidelines of Hard Rock Stadium with his Secret Service detail before the pre-game festivities.
At one point, Rubio was reportedly chatting with Heisman-trophy-winning ex-quarterback Tim Tebow.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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