Lock the doors, bar the windows, here it Thursday's blog post. Our topic is about safety. Are we less safe than we were 30 years ago? Specifically, are our children less safe. We hear about children being abducted and killed, being kidnapped, are our children less safe?
I do not think that the world is less safe than it was 30 years ago. If you look at the FBI database about violent crime 2008 and actually reports violent crime at the levels of the 70's. Which is a significant decline over the 90's. The graph actually shows a peak in violent crime in the 90's. Things are better now then they were 30 years ago.
If you look at crimes against children, they also reflect that trend of declining since the 90's. Actually, when you look at child safety data, which includes all violent crimes, environmental factors, etc, our children's greatest risks are obesity and disorders that are generally caused by being over weight. The only violence against children that has increased since the 70's is violence perpetrated by other children.
The data is great. The reality is that we are more aware of the bad things that happen to our kids. There are some great things that media as done for us. It enables us to be closer to people that are far away. That said it also gives us information that we might not have had 30 years ago. It makes us afraid of things that are unlikely to happen.
Our brains are hardwired to be afraid of things that we don't understand and are novel. We think nothing of putting our kids in a car, which is the most common reason children die. We worry that someone will take our kids and harm them. So we think we are protecting them by keeping them at home close to us. Are we really? Keeping them at home and near us, they aren't learning coping skills, the aren't feeling the trust and respect that they need from us to become functioning adults. Also, we are dening them the greatness of being able to do something on their own.
We need to make wise choices. We need to teach our children about the risks, give them tools to deal with things that might come up. Then we need to trust them. We need to let them go out in the world, to learn how to navigate. I never want my children to limit their lives, their options and possibilities because they are afraid.
So, when you see a band of kids running around the 'hood, chances are they are mine.
Want to see what the other ladies have to say? Check them out at Momarock, Froggie and Merrylandgirl.
I do not think that the world is less safe than it was 30 years ago. If you look at the FBI database about violent crime 2008 and actually reports violent crime at the levels of the 70's. Which is a significant decline over the 90's. The graph actually shows a peak in violent crime in the 90's. Things are better now then they were 30 years ago.
If you look at crimes against children, they also reflect that trend of declining since the 90's. Actually, when you look at child safety data, which includes all violent crimes, environmental factors, etc, our children's greatest risks are obesity and disorders that are generally caused by being over weight. The only violence against children that has increased since the 70's is violence perpetrated by other children.
The data is great. The reality is that we are more aware of the bad things that happen to our kids. There are some great things that media as done for us. It enables us to be closer to people that are far away. That said it also gives us information that we might not have had 30 years ago. It makes us afraid of things that are unlikely to happen.
Our brains are hardwired to be afraid of things that we don't understand and are novel. We think nothing of putting our kids in a car, which is the most common reason children die. We worry that someone will take our kids and harm them. So we think we are protecting them by keeping them at home close to us. Are we really? Keeping them at home and near us, they aren't learning coping skills, the aren't feeling the trust and respect that they need from us to become functioning adults. Also, we are dening them the greatness of being able to do something on their own.
We need to make wise choices. We need to teach our children about the risks, give them tools to deal with things that might come up. Then we need to trust them. We need to let them go out in the world, to learn how to navigate. I never want my children to limit their lives, their options and possibilities because they are afraid.
So, when you see a band of kids running around the 'hood, chances are they are mine.
Want to see what the other ladies have to say? Check them out at Momarock, Froggie and Merrylandgirl.
sounds like you're a liberal mom but also set limits. i'm sure your kids will be independent and also learn to make good choices for themselves when it comes to safety. :)
ReplyDeletei just realized our subject lines were the same for this post. lol!
ReplyDelete