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A random article
Apr. 7th, 2008 10:43 pmOne about a woman who GASP! let her 9-year-old take the train home. (I don't think that's a very big deal, although I do think that nine may be a year young for a ride with a transfer).
Naturally, (some) people talk about this like the woman was feeding her child to rabid bunnies or something.
"It's a different world from when we grew up!!!!"
That's what I hear all the time. And I'm sick of it, I really am. You know why?
Because it is a different world. It's a safer world, for one. You want to go and google the violent crime rates in 1998, and 1988, and 1978, and then 2007 (or whenever the most recent year is), you go do that. I'll wait. I'm not even going to bother confirming the number because I do that every time I hear that line, and every time I find out that, wow, the violent crime rates dropped an insane amount over the past few decades.
"Oh, but what about stranger danger?????"
What about it? Yes, I know stranger abductions do happen, somewhat less than 13000 a year (in the entire country!)... but most abductions are family affairs. As for rape and murder, the vast majority of that also happens within a family, or a group of trusted friends, or other people the child knows and trusts. Strangers... not so much. And everything I'm reading right now tells me that stranger abductions have also been decreasing in prevalence... not that they ever were common, you understand.
But you try to tell people this, and they insist you're wrong. And they won't check their facts even in the slightest.
We've been reading a lot of "classic kids books" lately. Ramona. The books by Ezra Keats. Pippi Longstocking. Ramona walks to kindergarten alone. Peter, at no older than six, goes out to do some shopping for his mother and plays in the snow all day. And Pippi, of course, lives alone... but even her parented friends have a lot more freedom than you'd expect!
It's scary stuff, really.
Naturally, (some) people talk about this like the woman was feeding her child to rabid bunnies or something.
"It's a different world from when we grew up!!!!"
That's what I hear all the time. And I'm sick of it, I really am. You know why?
Because it is a different world. It's a safer world, for one. You want to go and google the violent crime rates in 1998, and 1988, and 1978, and then 2007 (or whenever the most recent year is), you go do that. I'll wait. I'm not even going to bother confirming the number because I do that every time I hear that line, and every time I find out that, wow, the violent crime rates dropped an insane amount over the past few decades.
"Oh, but what about stranger danger?????"
What about it? Yes, I know stranger abductions do happen, somewhat less than 13000 a year (in the entire country!)... but most abductions are family affairs. As for rape and murder, the vast majority of that also happens within a family, or a group of trusted friends, or other people the child knows and trusts. Strangers... not so much. And everything I'm reading right now tells me that stranger abductions have also been decreasing in prevalence... not that they ever were common, you understand.
But you try to tell people this, and they insist you're wrong. And they won't check their facts even in the slightest.
We've been reading a lot of "classic kids books" lately. Ramona. The books by Ezra Keats. Pippi Longstocking. Ramona walks to kindergarten alone. Peter, at no older than six, goes out to do some shopping for his mother and plays in the snow all day. And Pippi, of course, lives alone... but even her parented friends have a lot more freedom than you'd expect!
It's scary stuff, really.
