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I think there is more concern about abductions than broken bones. I also used to roam free on my bike when I was a kid, but am guilty of airdropping my kid to a

by drdrey 8y ago

I think there is more concern about abductions than broken bones. I also used to roam free on my bike when I was a kid, but am guilty of airdropping my kid to activities.

maxxxxx 8y ago
Do you really believe there are abductors everywhere?
- garmaine 8y ago
  Yes.
- test6554 8y ago
  There was an article in the newspaper a week or two ago about an attempted abduction 1/2 mile from my house. Kid was walking home from elementary school and they tried to entice her into a van.
- flerchin 8y ago
  You may dislike it, but this behavior is a social norm.
- drdrey 8y ago
  No, but it still seems like an unbearable outcome
  - kgwgk 8y ago
    It seemed like a bearable outcome to your parents. ;-)
- jcims 8y ago
  It's basically a form of terrorism. Abductors don't need to be everywhere. They just have to be a plausible threat to affect the thought process of a parent that's deciding whether or not they are going to leave their child completely unsupervised and unattended. Maybe if the media didn't have a fetish for covering the incidents that do happen. Maybe if there wasn't a vocal subculture that crucifies parents for leaving their children to their own devices. Maybe if the thought of having the center of your world being beaten, violated and murdered at the hands of a stranger wasn't so mind-numbingly horrific. Maybe then this trend would start going the other way. Or not? Sure parents used to let their kids roam free. They also let them ride in the back of pickup trucks and beat their asses when they did something wrong. There's probably a healthy middle ground.
  - isostatic 8y ago
    I'm not concerned about abductions - no more than being struck by lightning. I am concerned about traffic, which is far heavier than it was 30 years ago and much more likely (than abduction/lightning) to end in serious injury or death.
    - jcims 8y ago
      That’s a good point, definitely a factor.
- beamatronic 8y ago
  Yes, are you not on Nextdoor? You would be shocked.
- ForRealsies 8y ago
  Yes. Late October 2016. Massive change in worldview.
Arbalest 8y ago
This has occurred to me too. I am not sure (as I am not up to date with the stats) if abductions are up or down as a %, but if you think of it like supply and demand, the supply of easily abductable children is way down. What I would suggest then is that, those that are left to roam are in more danger than those who aren't, because there aren't as many alternate targets. There are also fewer witnesses now too. So even if you think it is a big scare, there is less, to use a vaccination analogue (incorrectly I know), herd immunity.
masonic 8y ago
Like school shootings, stranger abductions occur at a much lower rate than a generation ago but are far more hyped by the media now.
- prawn 8y ago
  I imagine the thinking is not that it's more or less likely, but just that it's possible. When you have something that is infinitely valuable to you, even slight risk is a factor. Historically, someone might've had 5-10 children and it acted as a form of redundancy. I think that feeling has changed significantly! Conversely, I think there is a greater emphasis on extra-curricular activities now. These days, there is a feeling that you're selling your kid short or failing to set them up well if you don't have them enrolled in swimming lessons from maybe two years of age, in dance or sports or kinder-gym classes around 3-5 years of age, and then in after-school sports programs once they start school.
  - brlewis 8y ago
    I think the lesson from this article is that overprotection carries its own risks.
  - ethbro 8y ago
    I don't think that's fairly explained by more children -> fewer children. Something else had to have happened. I'd hazard that on the whole Americans are less tolerant of risk than they were 60 years ago. As an explanation, I'd tenuously tie it to a decrease in "real world physics" employment (e.g. farming, manufacturing). When 50% of the population works in farming (circa 1870), they have one way of evaluating risk and human capabilities. When that number drops to 2%, it's easy to forget how robust humans are.
    - prawn 8y ago
      Could well be part of it. Obviously, we're increasingly aware of the risks (usually without any appreciation of the odds). Previously, you heard through close circles. Now, by the time you're a parent, you've heard of hundreds of ways your child might die through news, movies, etc. I'm a parent of three, and I actively work to minimise risk amongst my kids where I think it's appropriate, but I'm always conscious of when I'm doing it and try to balance it.
flukus 8y ago
At the same time parents allow their kids to upload videos to youtube. A lot of would be abductors probably don't need to leave the house anymore.
gaius 8y ago
If it helps, abductions are very rarely random strangers, almost always someone already known to the child.

by drdrey 8y ago

I think there is more concern about abductions than broken bones. I also used to roam free on my bike when I was a kid, but am guilty of airdropping my kid to activities.

maxxxxx 8y ago

Do you really believe there are abductors everywhere?

garmaine 8y ago
Yes.
test6554 8y ago
There was an article in the newspaper a week or two ago about an attempted abduction 1/2 mile from my house. Kid was walking home from elementary school and they tried to entice her into a van.
flerchin 8y ago
You may dislike it, but this behavior is a social norm.
drdrey 8y ago
No, but it still seems like an unbearable outcome
- kgwgk 8y ago
  It seemed like a bearable outcome to your parents. ;-)
jcims 8y ago
It's basically a form of terrorism. Abductors don't need to be everywhere. They just have to be a plausible threat to affect the thought process of a parent that's deciding whether or not they are going to leave their child completely unsupervised and unattended. Maybe if the media didn't have a fetish for covering the incidents that do happen. Maybe if there wasn't a vocal subculture that crucifies parents for leaving their children to their own devices. Maybe if the thought of having the center of your world being beaten, violated and murdered at the hands of a stranger wasn't so mind-numbingly horrific. Maybe then this trend would start going the other way. Or not? Sure parents used to let their kids roam free. They also let them ride in the back of pickup trucks and beat their asses when they did something wrong. There's probably a healthy middle ground.
- isostatic 8y ago
  I'm not concerned about abductions - no more than being struck by lightning. I am concerned about traffic, which is far heavier than it was 30 years ago and much more likely (than abduction/lightning) to end in serious injury or death.
  - jcims 8y ago
    That’s a good point, definitely a factor.
beamatronic 8y ago
Yes, are you not on Nextdoor? You would be shocked.
ForRealsies 8y ago
Yes. Late October 2016. Massive change in worldview.

Arbalest 8y ago

This has occurred to me too. I am not sure (as I am not up to date with the stats) if abductions are up or down as a %, but if you think of it like supply and demand, the supply of easily abductable children is way down. What I would suggest then is that, those that are left to roam are in more danger than those who aren't, because there aren't as many alternate targets. There are also fewer witnesses now too. So even if you think it is a big scare, there is less, to use a vaccination analogue (incorrectly I know), herd immunity.

masonic 8y ago

Like school shootings, stranger abductions occur at a much lower rate than a generation ago but are far more hyped by the media now.

prawn 8y ago
I imagine the thinking is not that it's more or less likely, but just that it's possible. When you have something that is infinitely valuable to you, even slight risk is a factor. Historically, someone might've had 5-10 children and it acted as a form of redundancy. I think that feeling has changed significantly! Conversely, I think there is a greater emphasis on extra-curricular activities now. These days, there is a feeling that you're selling your kid short or failing to set them up well if you don't have them enrolled in swimming lessons from maybe two years of age, in dance or sports or kinder-gym classes around 3-5 years of age, and then in after-school sports programs once they start school.
- brlewis 8y ago
  I think the lesson from this article is that overprotection carries its own risks.
- ethbro 8y ago
  I don't think that's fairly explained by more children -> fewer children. Something else had to have happened. I'd hazard that on the whole Americans are less tolerant of risk than they were 60 years ago. As an explanation, I'd tenuously tie it to a decrease in "real world physics" employment (e.g. farming, manufacturing). When 50% of the population works in farming (circa 1870), they have one way of evaluating risk and human capabilities. When that number drops to 2%, it's easy to forget how robust humans are.
  - prawn 8y ago
    Could well be part of it. Obviously, we're increasingly aware of the risks (usually without any appreciation of the odds). Previously, you heard through close circles. Now, by the time you're a parent, you've heard of hundreds of ways your child might die through news, movies, etc. I'm a parent of three, and I actively work to minimise risk amongst my kids where I think it's appropriate, but I'm always conscious of when I'm doing it and try to balance it.

flukus 8y ago

At the same time parents allow their kids to upload videos to youtube. A lot of would be abductors probably don't need to leave the house anymore.

gaius 8y ago

If it helps, abductions are very rarely random strangers, almost always someone already known to the child.