Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!

Still from the movie "The Wizard of Oz."

Is it too dangerous to allow 9-year-old to walk to school? is a question taken on by syndicated columnist and author John Rosemond. From the article in the Charlotte Observer:

The issue of child abduction is interesting if for no reason other than fact hardly jibes with public perception. For example, the U.S. Justice Department has found that per-capita child abduction by non-family members (example: people intent on doing harm) has not increased appreciably, if at all, in nearly 20 years. Increased media coverage has raised awareness of the problem and contributed to a 100 percent return of abducted newborns in the last year (great!) but also created the general impression that child abduction is an ever-present, imminent threat (not so great).

The incidence of what the Justice Department calls "stereotypical" abductions -- involving a stranger who kidnaps a child with the intent of holding him for ransom, keeping him, or killing him -- is far lower than most parents imagine. Would you believe around 100 per year? That's roughly one in a million.

If you're truly concerned about your child's life, then don't allow horseback-riding or youth football, where the odds of being killed are three and twelve times greater, respectively. And if you really and truly want to ensure that your child lives to adulthood, never let him ride in a car, even yours, much less let him drive one.

Index Keywords: education; public-health; urban-design-placemaking