By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A Seattle news medium saw it fitting to send a news team out to investigate a report of a child leaving school early and walking home. No, it was not The Onion but KOMO News. It does show a sense of the zeitgeist and the culture of fear that is sadly inherent in many today.
A five year old boy wanted to walk home after having first been driving to school by his father. He then left school early and walked home to see his mother. He reportedly walked a mile to reach home.
In an interview with reporters, the father reported that he was “scared to death” when he received a call from the school the boy left.
“When somebody like that calls you, you think of every milk carton kid, every lost kid, every child molester”
The parents are now saying they will be home schooling their children beginning next school year.
The school admitted its error and vowed to beef up security and have more adults guarding the perimeter of the school as well as on crosswalks and throughout the area surrounding the school. It showed surveillance video of the boy leaving.
A news crew had a video segment retracing the boy’s route home. The reporter commented how there was no sidewalk and what he described as heavy traffic. (one car driving by) He asked rhetorically at an intersection “How could a little five year old get across without being hit?”
Then came the almost predictable reference to sex offenders amok in the community
“And I did some checking. There are five registered sex offenders in this general area; [Lacey, WA] fortunately, none around this route.”
Statistically, the boy would have a greater chance of being struck by lightning than being abducted. But the fear is that child molesters wait behind trees and mailboxes all day to pounce upon wayward children.
Remembering back, somehow I survived my half-mile walk to kindergarten along with many of my other classmates. In fact, some of my elder relatives who went to school walking or on horseback generations ago seemed to have survived long enough to continue the family lineage. But today the perception of risk is so detached from actual risk the mollycoddling and defensiveness exercised by parents brings up the question of what is actually more of a risk to the children–the culture of fear or the extremely remote risk.
Sadly, a child errantly walking home becomes matter for a major news outlet.
Source: KOMO News
The views expressed in this posting are the author’s alone and not those of the blog, the host, or other weekend bloggers. As an open forum, weekend bloggers post independently without pre-approval or review. Content and any displays or art are solely their decision and responsibility.
http://qz.com/319940/why-sweden-has-the-worlds-safest-roads/
Sweden is on its way to reaching zero road deaths per year. It’s an incredible feat, coming from a peak in road deaths in the 1970s. In 1997, Sweden implemented a “Vision Zero” plan in hopes of eradicating all road deaths and injuries, and it has already cut the deaths by half since 2000. In 2012, just one child under seven years old was killed on a road, compared with 58 in 1970.
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We could learn a lesson from Sweden. This road that the five year old was walking on was not child friendly. Not even a sidewalk from the photo.
Inga – they lock up everybody for DUI. That is how they cut down the highway deaths. Not sure what it is now, but the minimum used to be 1 year and there was no good time.
“According to Janson, the number of murdered children in Sweden is in reality very low, perhaps the lowest in the world. There is no evidence that the abolition of corporal punishment leads to higher crime rates. And parents are not jailed for a single spanking, just as adults are not imprisoned for slapping another adult once.”
From my link above.
JAG,
I agree with you that it’s not healthy to make children live in fear, but realistically, there are pedophile predators out there and the odds are greatly increased that a lone 5 year old is in greater danger walking a mile nowadays. I would ride my bike to a neighborhood grocery store alone after dark years ago, manyyyyy years ago.
JAG, Always good to see you. As you know from our many discussions, I call them as I see them. This looking for a woman instead of a man is not even close. I always remember my old mans phrase when we kids would be overly sensitive, “Buck up, buttercup.”
Nick – and it is not being overly sensitive, it is being sensible.
What about OLD HONEY? Is that one taken?
Nick – you look for someone safe, not just a female. There are some women I would not want my kid within a 100 miles of.
Annie, While I totally agree that it is NOT Sweden, and yes, it is a different day, than it was when I was growing up.
I do think that we have gone a little overboard with the FEAR. The fact is, kids are abducted from their bedrooms, when they are WITH their parents..
the BEST thing we can do as parents, is to make children MORE aware,
and a bit more independent. AND, NOT be driven by FEAR.
bam, I would give a professional estimation that the odds of that 5 year old being abducted being very slim. That said, predators in the animal kingdom and in humans, prey upon single, young victims. But, the fear is way out of proportion to the reality. Would I have my 5 year old walk alone a mile. There are a large number of factors involved. I would give a detailed accounting of those factors, but I can tell I would be wasting my time. So, we will simply have to respectfully disagree.
https://sweden.se/society/smacking-banned-since-1979/
No spanking allowed in Sweden! Sweden is a great place to raise children. We could emulate them if we didn’t have so many pedophiles.
Nick, you are RIGHT on there, this is NOT a subject for people to get sensitive about NOT looking for a MAN.
justagirl – so, you should avoid the male cop?
No kidding Bam Bam… Please do not address me as HONEY…
That is only for Darren, Nick and Gene. and a few other old timers, who I respect greatly. 🙂
Though, I’ve never known them to be sexist pigs, so, I will assume they will also not be addressing me as HONEY.
PaulS, You offense is duly noted. Men are by a huge margin the predators in humans. Smart people know the odds and probability, and teach their kids the odds as well.
Nick – if you have been following your local papers, women have been offending as much as men.
Inga – Sweden is where The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo series comes from. The author specialized in dealing with sexually abused women.
Yeah, Dorothy, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. This ain’t Sweden, honey.
Nick
I’m surprised by your reaction. Given your years of PI work, I would assume that you would have more of a reasonable grasp with regard to this type of situation. I can explain away some of the others on here having naive and misguided views. This isn’t about calling anyone stupid. It’s about having a healthy amount of distrust and wariness, in 2015, as it pertains to the youngest and most vulnerable among us. Are the odds in favor of a five year old baby making it home, unmolested? Yeah, probably. The question is whether you, as a parent, an adult, want to gamble with the child’s life and safety.
My parents often spoke of growing up during a time when people left the doors to their homes unlocked. UNLOCKED. Are we just a bunch of nervous nellies when we comprehend that times have changed and that it is no longer an intelligent thing to do? Would you call someone who locks his front door paranoid? Times have changed, in more ways than one. If we lock our doors to protect our valuable possessions and family members, it is not an overreaction in 2015 to guard our five year old kids like a hawk.
I. Annie
Could it be that you and I actually agree on this? What is going on?
This isn’t Sweden, I wish we were more like Sweden. I think Sweden is a much safer place to bring up children.
Darren, This is a GREAT piece!!!!
I have to admit, it was totally like the Onion.
Parents in the USA would freak here in Sweden, children of 5 years old, take the subway by themselves.
and, when I was 5, I walked to and from school a mile each way in Seattle.. 😀
The HORROR!!!!
justagurl – when I was 5 I convinced two of my kindergarten classmates to ditch school with me. All would have gone well but my father happened to drive by and caught us. 🙂
Nick –
I find this kind of advice offensive. Any male is just as safe as any female. I find it horrendous that I should be considered a pedophile if I attempt to help a child.
Tyger, The parents who are neglectful don’t watch the news, they watch reality TV.
Back when SNL was funny they had a hilarious bit w/ Dan Ackroyd being a home alarm, fear mongering, salesman. He abducts Belushi’s kids and then bellows @ him asking if he can afford to NOT buy his alarm system. Belushi hurriedly signs the contract and Ackroyd gets on his walkie talkie, “OK, let the kids go now.” For some folks here, they are Belushi.
One thing to say for such an over-reactive news story: Maybe it will penetrate the shell of stupidity and ignorance that too many parents have and motivate them to take precautionary actions with their children they would otherwise not think of or neglect to do.
Don’t let your kids watch the news. And, it’s probably a good idea for many mothers and grandmothers to not watch the news either. They buy this fear hook, line and sinker.