According to almost all of the available data, kids in America today
are safer than in any other time in recent history. That's almost shocking to consider, when it seems like we are bombarded daily with horror stories involving the abduction, molestation, or murder of a child. But that has as much to do with how quickly information is spread via the Internet, than as an indication that the world has grown less safe for kids. An
excellent article from
The Washington Post illustrates that child mortality in the United States has fallen by nearly half since 1990, after more than two decades on the upswing since 1969, and that includes deaths from homicides. It's been proven that many of the threats to children that many people project onto imagined
strangers are more likely to be caused by a family member or other adult close to the child. It appears that many people who are convinced that kids must have constant adult supervision in order to be safe
are being paranoid. That's understandable, since their kid's welfare is on the line, but it often doesn't stand up well to the facts.
Risk assessment seems to be a major factor in protecting children from the dangers of our world, and of course, every situation is different. A child being raised in an upscale suburb like the one the Meitiv kids live in probably faces fewer dangers walking a mile home than children growing up in a dangerous part of a major city, and a different strategy would probably be in order. It's no one else's concern if a parent feels compelled to be extremely cautious and controlling of their child, but it becomes a problem when people assume parents are being neglectful toward their kids or exposing them to danger simply because they allow them to function without direct adult supervision at all times.
The police and Child Protective Services aren't the bad guys here, they only do what they should, and investigate reports of neglect or abuse. There aren't
any laws in Texas specifying that kids under a certain age are prohibited from walking or playing without adults present, and that's probably a good thing. So many factors effect whether a specific situation is dangerous or neglectful, and every case should be evaluated based on the circumstances.