Good parents drive their kids to school … or do they? Lets look at facts rather than sensationalized nationwide news broadcasts that like to whip everyone into a fear-frenzy because its good for ratings.
Child abductions and obesity
All modern parents have had it drummed into them that its dangerous for kids to be outside by themselves because of the danger of abduction. A parent that allowed their child to go by themselves to the corner store or bike to school would most likely get a lecture from a neighbor about “responsible parenting”. What is the actual risk of a childhood abduction? Glad you asked! Fewer than 100 are kidnapped each year in the stereotypical stranger abductions you hear about in the news and this is according to the Polly Klaas foundation which is one of the most reputable child safety organizations..
Good parents drive their kids to school!
Well, certainly 100 kids kidnapped each year is 100 too many so good parents drive their kids to school, right? Not so fast – sometimes the cure is worse than the disease! Childhood obesity is at epidemic levels and one of the main contributors to this is that kids are getting more sedentary every year. Drive to school instead of walking or biking. After school sports programs cancelled to save money. Video games and smart phones instead of playing in the street. All this takes a toll on kids. Depending on how you count, there are between 100,000 and 400,000 obesity related deaths every year in America and obese kids grow up to die as obese adults! Even by conservative calculations your child is 1000X more likely to die from obesity than they are to be abducted! Now explain to me again why good parents drive their kids to school because I dont understand!
Child abduction statistics
99.8% of the children who go missing do come home.
- Nearly 90% of missing children have simply misunderstood directions or miscommunicated their plans, are lost, or have run away.
- 9% are kidnapped by a family member in a custody dispute.
- 3% are abducted by non-family members, usually during the commission of a crime such as robbery or sexual assault. The kidnapper is often someone the child knows.
- Only about 100 children (a fraction of 1%) are kidnapped each year in the stereotypical stranger abductions you hear about in the news.
- About half of these 100 children come home.
This is a direct quote from the Polly Klaas Foundation website.
