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Strollerderby
I have heard it said that it is more likely for your child to be struck by lightening than to be abducted by a stranger, but I have never had any intention of testing that statistic. My children are friendly. Sometimes, too friendly, I have feared. I have tried, very hard, to walk the line between teaching the necessary “stranger danger” and allowing my children to grow into the friendly, small people I know them to be.
Admittedly, my tendency on this has likely always leaned to the over-protective, while my husband has wanted desperately to let the kiddos be kiddos. But this week, an “attempted abduction” report was filed with the local police department from MY NEIGHBORHOOD. And then there was this news story. Also close by. Now….we have called the police to express our concerns….and they have calmed us a touch… saying they are a) aware of the situations b) that the news story (linked above) has not been corroborated in any way, though they do have the police report on file from our neighborhood and c) there are extra patrols as a result of the increased concern….but STILL.
Apparently this is my week of thinking about things that are statistically not that risky, but that wind up in the news just enough to freak a mom out. Today I ran across a news story about a six-year-old boy who was molested in a park restroom during soccer practice.
As a mom of four boys, the idea of someone preying on them in a restroom (or anywhere, for that matter) is horrifying. On the other hand, as a mom of four boys, my options are limited when I’m out with them in public and they “gotta go.”
Are you a free-range parent, or do you hover like a helicopter?
Babble has a great essay up by Elizabeth Floyd Mair on the balancing act between helicopter parenting and free range kids. It’s a topic of tension for every parent I know.
We all have the same goals. We want our kids to grow up confident, secure, capable and safe. We want our lives as parents to be rich and interesting, a combination of quality time with our kids and space to relax and do our own thing.
The compromises we make to achieve those goals define, in some ways, who we are as parents. Are we the moms who take our kids to the park and leave them there, or the ones who attend after school enrichment programs with our kids every single day?
At the edges of this spectrum, we almost seem to form opposing teams: the free range parents vs. the helicopters. In reality, most of us are in the middle, tilting towards one side or another, depending on the specific issue. Mostly I fall toward the free-range side. But only mostly.
A new study has shown that girls ages 10 to 14, walking alone to or from school, are the most likely targets of child abductors. However, they are also the group most able to “escape harm through their own fast thinking or fierce resistance,” according to The Washington Post.
To be sure, kidnapping ranks high on the list of parental worries, but the crime is “infrequent,” the Post says. Ernie Allen, president of the missing children’s center, says, “The goal here is not to frighten, but to encourage parents to sit down with their kids, talk to them about their safety, and practice these things.” These things being the ability to recognize a bad situation and knowing how to respond. So what should you teach your kids about “stranger danger?” Continue reading »
Doesn’t this fuzzy white suit just make you want to snuggle the little sweetie wearing it? That’s just what it’s for. But don’t overindulge. The suit is wired to set off flashing lights and alarms if the child inside is touched for too long or in an inappropriate place.
No, you can’t buy one at Target.
Artist Helge Fischer made this suit as an ironic statement on our culture of overprotective parenting. But there were plenty of moms and teachers eager to suit up their young charges.
Do you worry that your kids will get kidnapped? Do you fret about terrorism and school snipers? Do you warn your kids about talking to strangers? If so, you are officially a paranoid parent.
Author Christie Barnes has good news for you: You don’t need to worry about kidnapping, school snipers, terrorism or stranger danger. Why? The odds of most of those things happening to a child are 1 in 10 million.
In an attempt to feel as if we can control our world and protect our kids, Barnes says that parents worry too much — about all the wrong things. She should know.
One day, her husband, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Barnes, took their one-year-old triplets and four-year-old daughter out for a walk in the park. The next day, tragedy struck and Peter died of a stroke. Barnes knew then that the real dangers in life are the ones you can’t necessarily predict or prevent.
So what else don’t we need to worry about? Continue reading »
Want your child to be able to take down a predator with her bare hands? Sign her up for Krav Maga classes!
Krav Maga is not just for soldiers and cops anymore.
The lethal fighting technique developed and made infamous by the Israeli miltary is now being offered to children in classes around the country.
Forget about bowing to the sensei and memorizing martial arts forms. Krav Maga is all about “getting down and dirty in the interest of saving your own skin”, says the New York Times. Sweet.
The kids in Krav Maga classes learn about two-handed chokeholds, going for the eyes and how to cause the most damage with a hit to the face. Why do elementary school kids need these skills?
To use on strangers of course. The dangerous kind, that might pop out from behind any given shrubbery and attack you.
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