Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Why would anybody live in a COUNTRY where there is no place safe to go out alone? And then say it is the best country in the world.
Urban areas that are rife with predators are NOT specific to the US, partner. Discussing ways for our kids to stay safe is the topic here, not how we feel about our country as compared to others. Theres another thread on another forum dedicated to that idea, maybe this should be posted there instead?. Anyway, even in the rural area I live in , when my son is in town ,say after school, I still feel better when he is with friends and not alone. It's just common sense. Predators, whether two or four legged, look for lone prey. Thats how they operate and they don't give a single thought as to what country they are operating in. The goblins want an easy target and a lone individual suits the bill. Anyone who lives in a crowded urban area that has a reputation for crime of any kind is prudent to not let their child out alone. Don't present an inviting target and one won't become the object of interest for some deviant predator. . There is no sense in making these creeps life easy. That was the point of my post....no one was making any allusions to this country being a shining beacon of safety. Far from it, our streets are a jungle and we need to watch out for the Hyenas.
We live in a very "safe" neighborhood - what I would call a upper-middle class "cop and teacher" neighborhood. That said, I've always taught BOTH DD and DS the importance of being aware of your surroundings and walking/acting in a confident mode etc. I did not arm my daughter with mace and it wouldn't even occur to me to arm my son. To be perfectly honest, a teenaged boy walking around with mace would be at a much higher risk from taunting or bullying by his peers (if they found out) than he would being approached by a sexual predator. Not to mention where exactly would he keep it? DS lives in jeans or basketball shorts, hard enough finding a place for his phone.
NVplumber, you are the one who said there is no place, no time, where a person is safe alone without backup. I'm assuming that you live in the United States. So I am assuming that that is what you think of the United States. Do you know any other countries well enough to know that that is true in other countries, as well? Which ones? I did not bring up the USA---you did, by implying that this country is not safe, anywhere, at any time.. That sounds like bashing America, to me.
Martial Arts classes are great for helping kids learn ways to prevent becoming victims. My kids have also learned many different ways to get out of situations like being grabbed from behind in different ways and being held down in different ways. They've learned how to take down adults three times their size and how to handle different situations which might come up. They began taking classes years ago for fun, but when we realized that they were learning not just kicks and jumps but potential life-saving skills we had them keep it up. We don't care anything about what color belt they have or them being in competitions, we focus mainly on the self defense skills, discipline, building awareness, and understanding what it means to give and earn respect. We are not a violent family, we are pacifists actually, but we realize that we live in a violent world and we want our children to be prepared for living in it. They would carry mace if it was allowed - but their schools don't allow it.
Bad things can happen anywhere, anytime, to anyone. Better to be safe than sorry.
Martial Arts classes are great for helping kids learn ways to prevent becoming victims..
Some states have HS drop out rates of nearly 50% and all of them the drop out rate is at least 20%. If we are going to teach our children anything more than we're teaching them now, don't you think it would make more sense to concentrate our resources on teaching them to read and write, rather than how to use physical force to subdue other human beings? How do you suppose I lived to be 70 years old without learning martial arts? You know what? It is really, really easy to prevent becoming a victim.
NVplumber, you are the one who said there is no place, no time, where a person is safe alone without backup. I'm assuming that you live in the United States. So I am assuming that that is what you think of the United States. Do you know any other countries well enough to know that that is true in other countries, as well? Which ones? I did not bring up the USA---you did, by implying that this country is not safe, anywhere, at any time.. That sounds like bashing America, to me.
The statement you are refering to was intentended as a rule for children. The old safety in numbers rule. I'm not making any digs on the US or any other country (and yes I've been to a few others) as to crime issues. I lived in the PI for four years and have spent time in Japan as well.I woould not want my young son going out alone in certain areas there any more than I would want him wandering alone in LA or NYC. Maybe I worry to much, maybe not, but not a day goes by that there is not a story on the news about a child being victimized. Being in no less than a pair lowers the odds. And as far as I'm concerned no place is immune. Not even my small home town here. I'd rather be over cautious than grieving the loss of my son to some goblin. Hope that clears things up a mite.
Some states have HS drop out rates of nearly 50% and all of them the drop out rate is at least 20%. If we are going to teach our children anything more than we're teaching them now, don't you think it would make more sense to concentrate our resources on teaching them to read and write, rather than how to use physical force to subdue other human beings? How do you suppose I lived to be 70 years old without learning martial arts? You know what? It is really, really easy to prevent becoming a victim.
I agree that we need to ensure that our children receive an adequate education, but the the topic for this thread is how we go about trying to keep our children safe and prepare them to deal with dangerous situations that they might have to face someday. (And while there are some cities with only 20 - 30% of their students graduating high school (Detroit, Indianapolis, Cleveland...), the national average is closer to 70% of all children graduating high school. Almost 2 million children drop out of high school each year. It is devastating, but a different topic.)
I mentioned martial arts because it is one way we can help our children learn how to defend themselves.
Also - Good for you for reaching the age of 70 without ever becoming a victim. You are quite lucky. Thousands of children - and adults - every year all across the country in towns large and small and in neighborhoods good and bad are not so lucky - and the number goes up every year. It is estimated that thousands more crimes against children happen every year which are never reported.
There are all kinds of statistics and numbers you can find in various child advocate and state and federal government resources on the web. Google it. I don't need to spend much time studying those, though, as I was a victim myself. Once it happens to you, it's something you never forget and will do whatever you can to try to prevent it from ever happening to your children.
Last edited by haggardhouseelf; 01-13-2009 at 10:18 AM..
I just don't get it. According to NV, crimes aganst children are so rare, that they make the daily newapapers. They really are rare. Thousands of children being victimized, out of millions overall, is one out of a thousand.
No members of my family have ever been victimized by anyone against whom martial arts would have been useful. Nobody that I know fairly well has ever been, to my knowledge.
I was not a very fast runner when I was a kid, but I could run fast enough that I never needed martial arts. Teach a kid martial arts is giving him a false sense of security---it won't keep him safe if he comes up against somebody armed with a weapon or who outnumber him. His unrealistic expectation that he can use martial arts will get him into a lot more trouble than it will get him out of. And a lot of trouble that he could have gotten out of just by running fast. Or turning around and walking away.
But, of course, to big bully blowhards, walking or running away is not an option, so we have all these kids learning how to kill human beings with their bare hands. Thousands of housr studying martial arts, when they could be studying a foreign language or a musical instrument---something that will make their life more fulfilling then bar-room brawls.
A hammer thinks everything is a nail. It's easy to teach a kid martial arts. It's a lot harder to teach him when not to use it.
Mace would be a problem since it's likely banned from being in school. Also, boys being boys, I'll bet at some point a friend get maced. I believe awareness and maybe a self-defense course (mainly how to break free and get away), might be a better way to go.
Almost 2 million children drop out of high school each year. It is devastating, but a different topic.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by haggardhouseelf
Thousands of children - and adults - every year all across the country in towns large and small and in neighborhoods good and bad are not so lucky - and the number goes up every year.
If those number are correct, education (or the lack thereof) is a FAR worse problem than personal defense, and needs to be more aggressively addressed...
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. Anyway, even in the rural area I live in , when my son is in town ,say after school, I still feel better when he is with friends and not alone. It's just common sense. Predators, whether two or four legged, look for lone prey. Thats how they operate and they don't give a single thought as to what country they are operating in. The goblins want an easy target and a lone individual suits the bill. Anyone who lives in a crowded urban area that has a reputation for crime of any kind is prudent to not let their child out alone. Don't present an inviting target and one won't become the object of interest for some deviant predator. 
. There is no sense in making these creeps life easy. That was the point of my post....no one was making any allusions to this country being a shining beacon of safety. Far from it, our streets are a jungle and we need to watch out for the Hyenas.
