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Fostering Independence or Irresponsible Parenting?
The USA celebrates Walk to School Day this year on October 8 -- join and promote safe walking and bicycling throughout the year.
There's a parenting movement being publicized, where parents allow their children to take long excursions on their own...children as young as 9 years old. We're not only talking about playing outside their houses, or walking to a friend's house down the block. We're talking about allowing a 9-year-old to walk around New York City and ride the subway. Regardless of how responsible you think your children are, they are still that -- children. Do we as parents, really have to make our children experience adult situations in order to prepare them for adulthood?
Apparently, a great number of parents are all for giving their children the independence they crave. We're all for teaching children and equipping them with all the tools they need if they ever encounter a difficult situation. But to us, putting a 9-year-old child on the New York City streets and subways seems terribly wrong. Walking the streets of NYC is a little bit different than walking the streets to school. There are other ways of giving your child independence without placing them in precarious situations.
Children are not adults and should not be treated as such. There are enough bad people in this world that seek to harm adults...why even think about putting a child in an adult situation? Walking alone on the strees of NYC is an adult situation. It seems as though some parents are trying to make their children grow up too fast...can't we allow our children to just be children?
Parents who encourage this type of independence in their children, say that times haven't changed much from when they were young -- when they used to roam the streets without a care in the world. These parents say that there are no more predators or other dangers on the streets today than there were years ago -- that it just wasn't as publicized as it is today. Unfortunately, the point is -- the world is not the same as it was years ago. And whether there are more dangers now than back then, the facts are that children are being placed into situations where the possibility for problems is greater.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, pedestrian injury is still the second leading cause of injury-related death in the United States for children ages 5 to 14.
Back when these parents were young, there weren't as many school or random shootings. The people in today's world are more stressed...less patient...and some are more desperate. Times have certainly changed. If you don't think that children go missing every day, you should visit NCMEC's website and search. We're sure none of those parents expected their child to go missing.
We're not going to say that the parents who choose to allow their children to travel alone are crazy, but we personally don't know of any parent who would allow their 9-year-old to walk the NYC streets alone, and ride on the subways. There are just too many dangers that they could be confronted with...and all the knowledge in the world might not help protect them in certain situations. For example...getting onto an empty subway car and encountering a gang or other person out to cause harm. How about being pulled into a car or an alleyway while walking down the street? Or what about everyday dangers such as traffic? Also, many crimes are "crimes of opportunity." A young child walking alone is a prime target. To us, the risks are too great...because if it does happen to your child, the risk was indeed 100%.
If you are a parent who allows your children to walk and travel alone, we encourage you to view the website links below for safety tips on how to keep your children safe. Be sure to review "what if" situations with your children, and let them know what to do if they ever find themselves in a dangerous situation. In addition, we have listed some facts below from the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics Authority, and the NHTSA:
- Due to higher traffic volumes and higher than average speeds, injuries are most likely to occur during the evening rush hour between 3 and 7pm (44% of all young pedestrian fatalities are under age 16). Fatigue and lack of attention also increase the risk of a child suffering a pedestrian injury on the way home from school.
- Elementary-age children are at greatest risk because of their limited developmental skills. Children at this age group have a field of vision one-third narrower than an adult’s. They are often unable to determine the direction of sounds and cannot yet accurately judge the speed or distance of moving vehicles or the time it takes for them to stop.
- These children often overestimate their own abilities, are easily distracted and tend to focus on one thing at a time (like a ball or a friend). Due to their size, elementary-age children are easily hidden by bushes, snow banks and parked cars.
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children up to 10 years old don't have the judgement to cope with traffic by themselves yet.
There may be many of you who might think we're paranoid...that's OK, you're entitled to your opinion just as we are. But we'd like to think of ourselves as being smart, prepared and aware. Just remember this -- it takes just one time for your child to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. We hope you never regret any of your decisions.
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