Let your kids walk alone down the street at 10 and 11? Would you? (BF, parent)
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Yes, this. The reason stories of abductions are so highly publicized is not that they occur so much more frequently "these days," but exactly because they are rare. The media also thrives on negative, fear-mongering stories. I doubt anyone would tune in to the 5:00 news to hear reports of "Susie played outside unsupervised with her 10 year old friends today without incident."
I think what's going on with these supposedly new 'epidemics' (guns, bullying, suicide, etc) is that everyone is so interconnected now and news can be had instantly...people are being bombarded with stuff you would have never heard of before. So they think this is suddenly happening more when in reality it was happening all along and no one talked about it or the info wasn't as readily available EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED.
I think what's going on with these supposedly new 'epidemics' (guns, bullying, suicide, etc) is that everyone is so interconnected now and news can be had instantly...people are being bombarded with stuff you would have never heard of before. So they think this is suddenly happening more when in reality it was happening all along and no one talked about it or the info wasn't as readily available EVERY TIME IT HAPPENED.
I agree with you. Increased accessibility to information can be mistakenly interpreted as increased frequency of events occurring, despite statistics pointing to the contrary. Add in that these types of stories produce an emotional reaction and it is easy for people to slip into emotional thinking rather than logical thinking.
It really depends on the situation and the child. How far the child is going, whether they have (and know how to use) a cellphone, whether a responsible adult is aware of their whereabouts/could get to them (or have someone get to them) fast, if needed, etc.
There are times when I would and there are times when I would not let my child walk down the street by themselves. It depends.
Tell us how many children you personally, actually have and are raising?
My thoughts exactly. Yes, there are scary people out there, but this isn't new, it is just made more available to people via 24/7 news and much of it not totally accurate for that matter. It is amazing to me, parents won't there little angels play outside, ride their bikes through the neighborhood or walk to a friends house, but they let those same kids have cell phones and internet access to watch almost anything, they let them wear makeup at 12 and they encouraget them to grow up as fast as possible.
My thoughts exactly. Yes, there are scary people out there, but this isn't new, it is just made more available to people via 24/7 news and much of it not totally accurate for that matter. It is amazing to me, parents won't there little angels play outside, ride their bikes through the neighborhood or walk to a friends house, but they let those same kids have cell phones and internet access to watch almost anything, they let them wear makeup at 12 and they encouraget them to grow up as fast as possible.
Very true. Kids probably get into a lot more trouble playing on the internet at home (parents nearby or even in the same room) than they do shooting hoops with their friends at the neighborhood park.
So what? A girl at my school was actually kidnapped and that was back in the eighties. It's no different. Are we supposed to keep our kids in a bubble or teach them how to defend themselves? I choose the latter.
and there were many, many cases of kidnapping and murder of your children even in the 40s and 50s. I could relate several to all of you. My mom and dad did make us aware of this and told us to be careful, not ride with or take candy for strangers and not to dilly, dally arond when we were out walking or riding our bikes to school or to friends homes.
One of the irritating things I find about being a parent these days is that every time you turn around the media is telling you about another way your child could be harmed or killed. There is a reason for the cliche: "Ignorance is bliss."
At some time or another, I've worried about all kinds of things that never would have crossed my radar screen if I didn't read the news. I've worried about heavy furniture falling on my child and about blinds cords. I think I have drove my kids nuts telling them not to play near pool drains after reading a horrible story about a girl dying because of a pool drain.
When I was a kid I don't remember my parents warning me about too many dangers. One of the advantages of that is I did not worry as much, and I had a sense of adventure. I certainly was walking around the neighborhood by myself at age 10 and 11. Today I think my kids are learning to be a bit afraid of the world. I like when they are cautious, but I also don't want them not the experience the world because they are afraid some unusual event will occur. It is a tough balancing act.
For whatever reason, there are some unusual threats that I worry about more than others. I don't worry too much about stranger danger though I have warned them about that. I also don't worry about trampolines like I see some other people were worrying about on another thread. However, I am afraid of wild animals. We cancelled plans to camp in one park, for example, because I read that there were a number of bears in the park. We got a hotel room instead. I felt better, but my kids did miss out on a chance to camp somewhere that would have probably been pretty cool. Sometimes I think it would be more fun to be a parent who did not read the news!
For whatever reason, there are some unusual threats that I worry about more than others. I don't worry too much about stranger danger though I have warned them about that. I also don't worry about trampolines like I see some other people were worrying about on another thread. However, I am afraid of wild animals. We cancelled plans to camp in one park, for example, because I read that there were a number of bears in the park. We got a hotel room instead. I felt better, but my kids did miss out on a chance to camp somewhere that would have probably been pretty cool. Sometimes I think it would be more fun to be a parent who did not read the news!
Bears freak me out a little, too. I must admit.
But there are wild animals everywhere. In fact, the only time I've ever heard of a person being bitten by a bat it was inside their own home. We've seen deer, fox, rabbits, squirrels even coyotes in our suburban neighborhood. Any of those creatures could be in your own back yard at any time. In fact, when you hear about kids being bitten by wild animals, it usually happened in their own back yard.
Kids need to know to stay away from wild animals. Never try to play with them and/or get between a mother and her babies. If a wild animal (or dog/cat) does bite them - tell a parent/responsible adult right away.
Parents should stay outside and keep a close eye on kids that may not be able to communicate problems such as these.
What is disturbing? The video-yes...
We live 45 min from Philly and the one video has been all over our newstations. It is scary, disturbing, sad,etc...
I don't know what is so disturbing about the OP's comments. I am not sure how she was judging anyone.. She asked a question.
The video is not the point of my post.
If you've been on this forum in the past couple of months, you know that the OP has no kids, yet HE posts here all the time about the "many dangers in the world ready to befall children."
It seems to approach obsession.
Sure, he asked a question. But it's a fear-mongering question that has essentially been covered here ad nauseum.
I also take great exception to his statement, "This proves you can't even let them walk alone down the street anymore."
It proves nothing of the kind; that statement is complete BS.
If anything, it shows that kids can fight back and PROTECT THEMSELVES. If a parent HAD been there, what if the attacker had shot the parent? Then the kid is essentially alone anyway. The presence of a parent is not always a guarantee of safety.
I am not a fan of pearl-clutching, hyperventilating posts that share the freak shows of the day from morning news programs.
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