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Very frequently my little brother and I would get up early and head out to fish in all the surrounding ponds. We lived in the country. We would be home for lunch, then off again till supper. We were doing it from about 5 & 8 (he's three years younger than I am.) on. We moved to town when I was 13. At that age, we roamed our neighborhood most of the day during the summers. It was a much different time then.

I had a great deal of freedom at 5 also. However, I not sure the actually child related crime is that much different than days past. I think the amount of media coverage ( social and commercial) is much greater.

Remember Cherish Perrywinkle

Take the time to research how many children in the U.S. (never mind the rest of the world) disappear.

The number is staggering.

Yes, a few (very) are divorced parents kidnapping one of their own children despite court decisions, but many more are just standard issue kids who simply disappear.

My two Granddaughters even as small children and then as they got older looked like models of beauty. Yes, Grandpaw you're biased, everyone thinks that about their Granddaughters. No, they really are absolutely gorgeous girls. When Grandmaw and I took them anywhere we made certain of their security. They were never gonna be kidnapped if I had to die to prevent it... I could imagine real blonde, hazel eyed beauties bringing a high price on the white slave market. Yes,...it exists.

Abraham wrote:Take the time to research how many children in the U.S. (never mind the rest of the world) disappear.

The number is staggering.

Yes, a few (very) are divorced parents kidnapping one of their own children despite court decisions, but many more are just standard issue kids who simply disappear.

My two Granddaughters even as small children and then as they got older looked like models of beauty. Yes, Grandpaw you're biased, everyone thinks that about their Granddaughters. No, they really are absolutely gorgeous girls. When Grandmaw and I took them anywhere we made certain of their security. They were never gonna be kidnapped if I had to die to prevent it... I could imagine real blonde, hazel eyed beauties bringing a high price on the white slave market. Yes,...it exists.

If we exclude family abductions, it sounds like the number may actually be staggeringly small. This report http://abcnews.go.com/US/missing-childr ... d=19126967cites the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children as pegging the number of stranger abductions at 115 per year. That's minute given the overall population of kids in the U.S. These numbers could be incorrect given the source (ABC news). What numbers are you getting in your research?

I do know that my personal anecdotal experience is consistent with the very low number reported. As a 11 year old, I used to ride my bike 2 miles to a local store and hang out there all day with no means of contact to my parents. As a 13 year old, after moving into the "city" (Portland, OR), I used to hop on a city bus after school and ride 15 miles to a mall, stay until dark, then ride the bus home. Somehow, I and my 3 brothers all survived, unharmed, as did all of our friends.

Has something happened over the last 20-30 years to cause more people to want to abduct kids? Or are these cases just getting more publicity than before?

A guy I know who worked the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo for many years. He worked lost and found for years and said plenty of kids would walk into the room/building, "lost" and their parents would pick them up many hours later and the parents were obviously drunk and not concerned that the kids were "lost." He said on a regular basis these idiot parents would use the lost and found as a free baby sitter.

As for children being abducted, the vast majority of those events is another family member. As a Mr. Mom for 12 years I was appropriately aware and protective of my kiddos but gave them room to explore the world around them. Read Protecting the Gift, Keeping Children Safe and Parents Sane by Gavin de Becker.

Wow......I'm seeing alot of hypocrisy in this thread. We want children to be independent, yet we remove every single obstacle in their path? No-go. Now, I'm not saying that a four year old should be allowed to wander wally world freely.
But, if you see a child that looks lost, scared etc, you ABSOLUTELY SHOULD make contact. I've done it in the past at school sporting events. Usually, I'll have my littles in tow, so that helps, and i hope that other parents would do the same for mine, but I'd rather defend myself to a scared parent, and even the police than run the risk of anyone's kid getting hurt. Creepy is as creepy does.
Teach your kids what to look for. How to deal with a stranger that gives them a weird feeling. And as far as teenagers go.......I've rarely seen one alone at a shopping center. Least of all a female. I have a 16yr old, and she knows what to do in a case where she feels out of whack. We need to stop pushing irrational fear onto our kids and give them the tools to live a normal life.

growlerVII wrote:Teach your kids what to look for. How to deal with a stranger that gives them a weird feeling. And as far as teenagers go.......I've rarely seen one alone at a shopping center. Least of all a female. I have a 16yr old, and she knows what to do in a case where she feels out of whack. We need to stop pushing irrational fear onto our kids and give them the tools to live a normal life.

But. But. But. If they don't live in a world of irrational fear, they'll never support gun control.

and if they don't support global warming theory, green initiatives, and gun control, their 'friends' will ostracize them and they will grow up socially stunted....