Great Article in the Post-Dispatch About Safety and Parenting
I just want to quickly link to this article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, by Bob Rybarczyk, that discusses our society’s obsession with safety. The amazing thing about the obsession, as the author discusses, is how it seems to have come about so quickly, yet so completely. Things we did as kids — and by “kids,” I mean just during the 1980s — like riding bikes without helmets, or cramming into the station wagon without seat belts were so completely normal, yet 20 years later they could get a parent indicted. I feel that our society has gone way too far with this obsession — both legally, with laws mandating safety requirements like bike helmets, and just on our own, as the author discusses with his own worrying about his kids if they travel out of the immediate neighborhood. I am not criticizing the author; I will certainly be the same way with my toddler as he gets older.
I am generally not one to blame the media, but the enormous coverage given to crimes against kids, such as kidnappings, feeds into people’s worries and puts normal parental concerns about such crimes way out of whack. A simple look at crime stats tells you that your kid can ride a bike outside of your view for a few hours and is not going to be kidnapped, but numbers don’t really matter much when it comes to people’s children.
I think the safety culture really got going in the late 80’s. I remember in the summer after 6th grade (1987), getting up at dawn to meet my best friend at the bus stop, and taking the bus from U. City all the way down Delmar to downtown to volunteer/hang out at the VP Fair all day, then getting picked up by our parents after the fireworks that night. We loved it. I think if parents allowed that today, they’d be arrested, convicted of child neglect, and sentenced to appear on the Today show to be berated by Ann Curry.
Comment by Mike S. — July 17, 2008 @ 10:32 a.m.
David, although the article opens the door to this important subject, it is more fluff than informative. Great resources are available in making our children safer by actually doing what most of us did as children to mature, be respectful of others and to learn how to be self reliant. Just one example is the Safe Routes to School programs that are promoted nationally and internationally (see: http://www.saferoutesinfo.org/).
Yes it is important to buckle our children in seat belts as our motorized vehicles are now faster by design and law enforcement remains behind the curve. But my wife and I teach our young sons to ride their bikes virtually everywhere, whether it’s to friends homes around the County’s seat or to St Charles. They know more about responsible driving behavior than the majority of local drivers who prefer speed and convenience over their own health as well as over the health of others.
The more pedestrians and cyclists on our streets and sidewalks, the safer everyone becomes… as long as they don’t get run over by careless drivers.
Comment by Jack — July 18, 2008 @ 10:22 a.m.