Child Abduction Fears are Overblown

My friends who are parents and I often discuss just how far we will let our kids bike or walk and what other limits we put on their freedom because of fears of strangers. I came across this article in a link on another blog and thought I would share. Here's a tidbit.

Anyone travelling in the US is constantly reminded that the nation's children are in peril from vicious predators. Yet the US is not experiencing an epidemic of child abduction. Figures released by the FBI indicate that the number of children kidnapped by strangers has been declining. The number of such abductions averaged 200-300 per year in the 1980s; last year they were down to 93.

Despite this good news, anxieties about "stranger-danger" continue to thrive. It is no wonder: the cumulative effect of the ceaseless exploitation of the issue of child snatching by the US media is poisoning the relationship between adults and children. As far as US culture goes, adults and children need to be kept apart.