Are children more at risk now than in the 1970's

[MrTempleDene]

This longish article (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,7-2275465,00.html) in the Times has some sobering comments, for example traffic deaths have droppped from 668 in 1976 to 166 in 2004.

There is also a tragic story about how Adults are scared these days to help children.

The truth of this was tragically demonstrated in March at an inquest into the death of two-year-old Abby Rae, who wandered out of her village nursery unnoticed and later drowned in a nearby pond. A male driver had seen her walking along the road alone but failed to stop to help her. He told the inquest: “One of the reasons I did not go back is because I thought someone would see me and think I was trying to abduct her.”

I must admit, I've always been a little worried that if DS or DD did get lost they wouldn't get help from adults who should help them, I think I'm more worried about that than them being abducted.

[mumsiejudy]

Personally Netty's husband I think children and parents are more at risk today than in the 70's. I can remember being allowed socially to discipline my children and also being able to leave babies and toddlers in their prams and pushchairs outside shops and you knew they would be there when you finished shopping. Nowadays you wouldn't dream of doing such a thing as the mind boggles at what could happen to them. Children could safely go out and play and if a car stopped to ask them something, maybe the way, it was safe for them to answer. I think I could go on for most of the day on this subject but have some tomoto plants in desperate need of planting before it gets tooooo hot.

[MrTempleDene]

That's the whoie point of the article though, do we remember the 70's with nostalgia even though it wasn't as safe? or is it really more dangerous now.

I lean towards same level of danger, but people are a lot more paranoid because of lurid stories in the papers which back then, still happened, but were not published and turned in to major tabloid fodder.

[Tanya]

I see where you're coming from and I am not sure now, I need more time to think about this one, let you know later what I come up with lol

[Tinkabell]

I think it is probably the same and agree with Netty's hubby that we are more aware of things now through the media than before.

[mumsiejudy]

Maybe we are made a lot more aware of dangers but I still think it was safer for all age groups back in the 70's. There were still papers and T.V.then. Today there seems to be this weird group who think it fun to maim, injure and even kill and although it did still go on then not to the great extent it does today.

[Katiequiggle]

I know that you will all shout at me for posting this but actually ( I hate that word) I don't think it's any different then to now. I think that the same problems occured back then, (think about Ian Brady and Mira Hindle for example and the Ripper rapist blokes (ok he killed adults but you know what I mean) I think we are just made more aware of all this stuff now through the mass media, in those days you had the 6 O'clock news, and the news at 10 and the news papers. Now if a vicar gives one of his sunday school kids a hug for being kind or doing something great it is all over the newspapers and gmtv and the internet and the news on the hour ever hour. etc. etc.

It has got to the stage now that I am more worried about letting my 8 year old run down to the bakery to get a loaf of bread, incase someone who knows him sees him out on his own and tells everyone what a bad parent I am because I let my 8 year old son out on his own than I am about him being abducted by some weird bloke with a likeing for little boys or getting run over.

I also think that there is more chance of getting your child abducted by some do gooder pc maniac if you leave them outside a shop in their pram than you have of some one running off with them to do nasty things with them.

I live in quite a busy little village, and I used to leave my pram outside the bakers while I went in for a loaf of bread, where I could see him from inside the shop and the most I ever got was little old ladies tickling them to make them smile or making silly noises at them, apart from the silly cow who came rushing into the bakery parping on about someone abusing a baby by leaving it outside the shop in a pram and didn't I know that it could have been abducted etc etc etc. Well no, sorry, the only problem encountered was you.

Well here I am. At last admitting that, Yes I do let my 8 year old go down to the local shop on his own. He is a very sensible and mature child with a reading age of 11.5 He knows how to cross a road at the crossing using the green man and also knows that even if there is a green man he can't cross until the cars have stopped. He also has a password and would never go off with anyone who asked him to or invited him to unless they could give him the password, even if it's someone he knows very well, apart from his father or his grandparents or another relative. (we don't have issues with any relatives and if we did I would apply the password to them too).

I know that he will go there and back and no where in between and yes, I have to say, I trust him, just like my Mum and Dad trusted me at 8 years old to go and play in the field at the end of our road and to walk home from school etc etc.

I hope this doesn't annoy anyone too much. It isn't meant to, but we're all different and have different ways of doing things, and what ever way anyone else chooses to do things is right too, you have to do what you're happy with.

Love Kate

[Easties]

I know that you will all shout at me for posting this but actually ( I hate that word) I don't think it's any different then to now. I think that the same problems occured back then, (think about Ian Brady and Mira Hindle for example and the Ripper rapist blokes (ok he killed adults but you know what I mean) I think we are just made more aware of all this stuff now through the mass media, in those days you had the 6 O'clock news, and the news at 10 and the news papers. Now if a vicar gives one of his sunday school kids a hug for being kind or doing something great it is all over the newspapers and gmtv and the internet and the news on the hour ever hour. etc. etc.

It has got to the stage now that I am more worried about letting my 8 year old run down to the bakery to get a loaf of bread, incase someone who knows him sees him out on his own and tells everyone what a bad parent I am because I let my 8 year old son out on his own than I am about him being abducted by some weird bloke with a likeing for little boys or getting run over.

I also think that there is more chance of getting your child abducted by some do gooder pc maniac if you leave them outside a shop in their pram than you have of some one running off with them to do nasty things with them.

I live in quite a busy little village, and I used to leave my pram outside the bakers while I went in for a loaf of bread, where I could see him from inside the shop and the most I ever got was little old ladies tickling them to make them smile or making silly noises at them, apart from the silly cow who came rushing into the bakery parping on about someone abusing a baby by leaving it outside the shop in a pram and didn't I know that it could have been abducted etc etc etc. Well no, sorry, the only problem encountered was you.

Well here I am. At last admitting that, Yes I do let my 8 year old go down to the local shop on his own. He is a very sensible and mature child with a reading age of 11.5 He knows how to cross a road at the crossing using the green man and also knows that even if there is a green man he can't cross until the cars have stopped. He also has a password and would never go off with anyone who asked him to or invited him to unless they could give him the password, even if it's someone he knows very well, apart from his father or his grandparents or another relative. (we don't have issues with any relatives and if we did I would apply the password to them too).

I know that he will go there and back and no where in between and yes, I have to say, I trust him, just like my Mum and Dad trusted me at 8 years old to go and play in the field at the end of our road and to walk home from school etc etc.

I hope this doesn't annoy anyone too much. It isn't meant to, but we're all different and have different ways of doing things, and what ever way anyone else chooses to do things is right too, you have to do what you're happy with.

Love Katehave to say i wasnt around in the 70's but i agree with everything you have just said and like you said its what ever the parent chooses to do and it all depends on the child some are more mature than others at 8 years old xxxxxx

[myname]

I know what you mean Katie, worrying about whether other people might consider what you do unacceptable and report you. This happened to someone I worked with, who left her 8 yr old boy napping on his bed and nipped to the post office at the end of their road. It was reported to social services and she was only out for 10 mins. It takes me longer than that to put all my washing out!
The first time I had to go to uni and leave my son (who had a cold and was off school) on his own in the house, I nearly had a nervous breakdown-and he was 13!!! lol
I don't let mine out to the shop at the end of the road 'til they're 10 and only a little further than that when 11/12, as we live just off an extremely busy main road and traffic is heavy all round.

[sanjan]

I must admit if either of my 2 where to do what I did back then I would probably ground the pair of them for being very stupid.

I used to live in a quarry town and we used to meet up and go and play in the old quarry buildings and slide down the quarry heaps on thick plastic bags.

We also used to go camping up the woods that wher behind us and the safest thing was probably to go to the beach

[ruthie]

I think things in the 70's were a lot safer, there was still a sense of community and people still looked out for others. Children were everyones concern not just their parents, I don't think it is just a nostalgia thing the times were so different, perhaps the last years of innocence for children. We didn't have the sexuality of little ones then e.g their clothing, magazines etc. We now seem to live in a anything goes society where no one takes responsiblilty, if we dare question the way society is changing we are shouted down and the thought police informed. I know there were Paedophiles in those days with the coming of the internet and mobiles such awful material is more available and contact between such like adults is now easy thus putting children more at risk. Also drugs and alcohol has increased violent crime. Not so many people drove either, nor moved about so much (people lived where they grew up) I think we were dam lucky to grow up in the seventies. I also think we had more respect for adults and others property etc, is all about peoples rights now a days instead of their responsibilities. Sorry, going to shut up now!!!!

[MrTempleDene]

Sanjan, yes I agree, some of the things I did as a child should probably have put me in hospital, I'd freak if I saw DS or DD doing the same stunts.

And Ruthie, that loss of community is certainly not imagined, and that does make things more dangerous, hence the tragic example in my first post.

I do think though that in general we are all a little more protective, a little more paranoid, a little more fearful than we were in the 70's and I think that can be pinned firmly not on a rise in crime, or violent crime, but in a rise of tabloid sensasionalism of that crime, which makes us feel things are worse than they really are.

[ruthie]

I do think though that in general we are all a little more protective, a little more paranoid, a little more fearful than we were in the 70's and I think that can be pinned firmly not on a rise in crime, or violent crime, but in a rise of tabloid sensasionalism of that crime, which makes us feel things are worse than they really are.[/QUOTE]

I not too sure, having lived most of my adult life on a council estate I have witness the escalation of thoughtless violence, vandalism, gangs etc, people being beaten up. To begin with it was a nice place to live but as the years went by it got worse and worse. So I would say I have witnessed the decline at first hand. I have advised my three, if they ever have the chance, to emigrate. You must admit that in those days we were scared of the police (for different reasons than now!!) where as now adays youth do not have that fearful respect. I think too many parents nowadays want to be their childs friend rather than their parent which doesn't help. I do agree we are more paranoid, I've notice this of myself when I take my little grandson out to the park and that is really sad.