The Odds of Your Kid Getting Kidnapped
One way to look at that number: The odds of having conjoined twins is 1 in 200,000 according to the University of Maryland's Medical Center. Way more common!
One Last Bit of Perspective
The risk of kids dying is going DOWN.
50 years ago, the death rate was 6 children per 10,000 kids ages 1-19. Now it's 2 per 10,000, says Today's Parent.
And to those who say, "Aren't kids safer today because we don't let them out of our sight?" I must note that the adults are far safer today too, and we don't "helicopter parent" them.
I know it doesn't feel that way, but as the FBI reported in February of this year: The violent crime rate today is about half of what it was 30 years ago.
It takes some bravery to buck the culture of fear. But maybe it's time to man (or mom) up. Send your kids out to be part of the world. That's what they're built for.
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Lenore Skenazy is president of Let Grow, a contributing writer at Reason.com, and author of "Has the World Gone Skenazy?" To learn more about Lenore Skenazy (Lskenazy@yahoo.com) and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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