How stranger danger changed the way children play

[HuckleB]

Closeted in the home or watched over by 'helicopter' parents, children lack much of the freedom they had only 50 years ago. What changed? Steve Humphries, who has made a new TV series on the way young people play, charts the rise of stranger danger.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8399749.stm

British children's play has been transformed in the last 100 years. Up to the 1960s there were few children who didn't spend much of their free time outdoors, playing in the fields, parks, streets, back alleys, old bombsites and local beauty spots.

This play was unsupervised by mum or dad and children were free to go on adventures far from home. Sadly this world of independent child's play has today largely vanished. One of the important reasons for this decline is the inexorable rise of stranger danger and child abduction in modern Britain.

It was in the mid 1960s that this new threat to children's freedom really took hold of the popular imagination. Child murderers Ian Brady and Myra Hindley helped change the nation's attitude towards children's outdoors play. Their sadistic crimes became one of the most sensational television news stories of the 60s.

The impact this had on children's play is vividly recalled by many growing at the time.


..."

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And it's not any different in the US, in my experience. This is a topic that progressives should be addressing, IMO. Irrational fear takes a toll in many areas of life, including on the children we're supposed to raise to be independent some day.

[XemaSab]

1. Child rape and murder went on in the 50's, 60's, 70's and so forth...

It also went on in the 40's, 30's, 20's, and before.

Reporting on it has gone up, and nothing else has.

[Hissyspit]

3. I was almost molested in the late '60s because I went off by myself.

[glitch]

16. As were we all, but truly excellent parenting prevented it, in my case anyway.

Stranger danger should not mean cower in your home in fear. It should mean live your life, be practical and learn to recognize a dangerous situation when it appears and run away (or whatever is the appropriate response for the situation).

[Hissyspit]

20. They didn't teach us that stuff in the late '60s. I figured out what was happening at the last

minute. I guess I was about 8.

[Luminous Animal]

25. That's too bad. I was taught about it in the 60s.

I distinctly remember a horrific film that they showed us at school I saw around age 7. And this in a small town of about 3000. Ironically, given recent news, it was a Catholic school.

My own mother must have warned me prior to that, though. When I was 5 in kindergarten, an ice storm was coming and the grandfather of my best friend (who lived across the street) called my mother to tell her that he was going to the school to pick her up ahead of the storm (we usually walked back and forth to school), and offered to bring me home, too. I had never met Pammy's grandfather and I refused to get in his car because he was a stranger.

[mrs premise]

45. Almost?

I was molested, by my Aunt's boyfriend. I have fond memories of going out in the morning and as long as I a was home for dinner, all was fine. I, nor any of my friends ever had a problem. This was California in the 70's, while the hillside strangler was going on. The molestation was not "stranger danger", but somebody brought into the family by somebody I loved. I feel sorry for kids today, they will never experience the freedom I took for granted.

[virgogal]

5. Ditto !

[Name removed]

13. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[HuckleB]

41. Child rape apparently occurred in Ireland as far back as the 1930s...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/20/AR2009052003809.html

[HuckleB]

42. It would also appear that child murder happened way, way back, at least in England...

http://www.cambridge.org/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521781930

[skepticscott]

2. People's ability to assess risk is really fucked up

Given the rate of child abductions by strangers, you'd have to let your kid play outside unsupervised for thousands of years before anything would be likely to happen.

[Echo In Light]

56. Likewise is their inability to accurately identify what their govt does, & in their names, w/their $

Stunning, isn't it?

[RKP5637]

4. I think children today well might grow up with distorted views of the world. So sad.

I'm so glad I grew up when I did with freedom!

[HopeHoops]

6. All three year olds should be issued a Taser.

:sarcasm:

Some parents almost take it to that extreme, and others are on the other end of the spectrum. There's a fine balance. It takes some guts to discuss these things with children, especially when it involves "bad touch" issues with children too young to comprehend sexual pleasure (and perverts). Open communication and situation preparation are critical. There was a story a couple months ago about an older woman in a "short bus" with no markings (I think in Michigan) who pulled up to a bus stop and said the regular bus broke down and told the kids to get on. They refused and she drove off. The regular bus showed up soon after that and the kids told the driver. The driver called it in but I never found out if they caught the woman. Those kids knew what to do.

[HuckleB]

7. Most kids do know what to do, if they're taught.

If they're kept hidden from interaction with others, then it's hard to teach them much.

[HopeHoops]

9. Yeah, we had a fundie neighbor 10 years ago - religion nuts.

The kids were "home schooled", but that mainly meant Bible training. Curiously, our kids were the only ones their kids were allowed to play with. They knew we weren't God freaks, but we didn't show them disrespect. I doubt those kids would have a clue what to do in such a situation.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. When I first started teaching 30 years ago this was one of the first things I noticed

I was teaching 1st grade and my kids didn't know how to play kickball or jump rope or play tag or any playground games. Blew me away until I realized they just never played outside. I had spent my childhood in the street - literally - playing capture the flag or red rover or kickball almost every night when the weather was nice. But these kids were living in a different age when protecting them was more important than letting them play. So their parents just never let them play outside. It's too dangerous.

It's sad.

[Liberal_in_LA]

67. We played jump rope, chinese jump rope, tether ball, and that game

where numbers are drawn in squares and you jump on one leg, then two legs.... OMG...can't remember the name.... Oh yeah..Hop scotch. lol.

[seabeyond]

10. i had to refuse the footprint and fingerprinting of little ones.... though i know a lot of dems rah

that. but i refused because i felt the odds to small of risk to encourage that kind of fear in my children. i encourage them to always talk to strangers and adults all around discouraged them. we talked about the issues and more, always putting in the odds of it happening.... if it does and i was always around to watch them and keep them safe. that was my job.

it isn't easy.

there are programs we feed thru our schools to our children that are very much dem programs which have there place on the one hand, and give kids too much of the responsibility for their own safety on the other.

drug fairs in kindergarten.

i had smokey the bear in mother day out (3 yr old) one year give a lecture of fire and safety. he took a book of matches. called kids attention. pulled a match. SHOWED them how to light and mesmerize the little ones with fire.

when i heard that one it was a oh, fuckin good, teach my kid to lite a match.

all the crap our kids get at such young age to make them responsible for their own safety and protection, yet we dont give them the foundation and time to develop and grow into the adult world

society is really fucked up for the kids.

in so many ways.

[waiting for hope]

11. We had a predator living across the

street from us. He got caught by his wife taking pictures of his 10 year old daughter in lingerie and it was found that he was selling the pictures online to other offenders. We don't know how far it went, there was some rumors going around about their older daughter and how "she went away" for a few months. He is in jail now, the wife sold the house but you never know everything about the people that live around you. He was from a family that owns a well known local business, drove a nice car, worked out and was friendly .. but I will admit, both my husband and myself felt that there was something strange about him and we didn't interact. He would have the garage door open in the summer and would be working out on the weight benches he had .. we would be out working in our yard and say under our breath, "Freak". We also have a wooded area behind our street, undeveloped and frequented by people on 4 wheelers. I would rather cut my hand off than let my eight year old back there by himself .. and that would have been something I could do myself 35 years ago - now it's unthinkable.

[glitch]

12. Fear-basing is ever so much more useful to fascists than fearlessness.

Not to mention the creative analysis skills that come from a free-range childhood, must be discouraged! /sarc

Important subject, thanks for posting. IMO the fear in our culture especially as it pertains to child-rearing was intentionally induced.

[amborin]

14. agree; was going to say much is media-driven.

i bet studies have been done looking at these issues historically

are kids today really facing more danger from predators? or is it that the reporting and detection----but not the actual rate---has increased?

many parents today fall for the corporate advertising that says kids need cell phones for their safety.

what a crock! how much of this fear is all corporate-driven?

[glitch]

18. It would be interesting to see the data. Maybe the per capita risk is lower.

That is certainly a statistic we won't see in the corpse media, if so.

[HuckleB]

38. The data is quite freely available, actually, despite the TV media's BS obsession with fear.

http://stats.org/stories/2009/land_free_home_scared_sept2_09.html

More...

http://freerangekids.wordpress.com/2009/05/04/are-crimes-against-children-down-because-there-are-no-more-kids-outside/

[glitch]

55. Thanks for those links. My gut knew it.

Kids are far more at risk from being intentionally dumbed down just as catastrophic climate change looms.
Not to mention their risks from corporate predation.

[HuckleB]

58. No problem.

And no question about it.

Cheers!

[HuckleB]

26. Crime rates have been decreasing for some time now.

The economy might change some of that, but...

[tXr]

43. Cower inside! Watch TV! Be afraid! Shut up! Consume, obey, and die quickly!

Mr. LaPage has always been around; what has changed is the rise of the 24/7 media cycle which shoves fear down our throats for the benefit of their corporate masters.

Elvis had the right idea when he shot his TVs.

[HuckleB]

50. +1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, the Internet hasn't helped much, to that end, either.

[dflprincess]

15. I think another big factor in the change is that Moms went to work

when I was growing up in 50s and 60s we roamed the neighborhood at will - but wherever you were someone's mom was around to at least keep an ear (if not an eye) out for trouble and to run to if you needed help.

[KittyWampus]

30. also, neighbors and shop keepers kept an eye on kids- now no one wants to get involved.

[PVnRT]

54. That's because they're afraid they'll be accused of being pedophiles

[HuckleB]

57. Indeed.

Smile and wave at a kid, and you might find yourself in a heap of trouble.

Seniors questioned by RCMP over attempted abduction complaint
http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=305840&sc=49

[pengillian101]

40. Very true.

Perverts have been around, it just wasn't spread all over the news 24 hours a day.

Just recalling, I can think of two instances. I remember being warned of strange men. My folks had warnings, as did our old elementary school janitor. He told us that if some guy was being weird - kick him between the legs as hard as we could. Of course, we didn't know what that meant exactly...but all kids knew danger was a possibility, but it didn't hamper our lifestyle!

At about 5-7 years old in the 50's, my best friend and I went to the corner grocery store for candy. The owner was an elderly man and said we could have free candy - just come to the back room and show him our undies. We looked at each other and knew to RUN! In recalling that now decades later, I wonder if he just went loopy in his old age. He was married to his sweetheart until they died in their 90's. We lived nearby so I knew them both. He only was weird that one time.

The other one that comes to mind was as a teenager, a bunch of us would walk to the local dance club. A guy living on the block would flash us through his window. We all just laughed at him. But we were a large group - hard to say what happened if someone was alone.

[skygazer]

65. Well, in some demographics, Moms always worked

In a lot of working class and poor families, moms have been working for a long time. We think of 50's moms being stay-at-home moms from television and from the middle-class experience but that's not the only experience in this country - or even the largest. My mom always worked and a lot of my friends' moms did too.

[amborin]

17. greatest threat to kids: riding in car with their parents; no more molestation today then earlier:

"Despite what the major media apparently want you to believe, children are as safe from predators today as they were in the 1970s. Furthermore, for all the ''stranger danger'' hysteria, a child is far more likely to be assaulted by an adult acquaintance than a stranger. In other words, a child is at greater danger (albeit the danger isn't great at all) in his/her own neighborhood than five miles from home. Topping the list of uncomfortable statistics is the fact that a child is at greatest risk sitting in the back seat of a car being driven by a parent. (A good reason, by the way, to stop the after-school activities rat race.)"

snip

<http://www.ohio.com/lifestyle/parenting/33404404.html>

[Luminous Animal]

21. I've posted that before. Pointing out that parents put their children

in far more danger by letting them ride in a car than they'd ever face running around the woods or neighborhood with their friends. Furthermore, children face more danger from familiar predators than a stranger. People are really fucking up their children by letting irrational fear guide their decisions.

[amborin]

29. +10

[raccoon]

49. Along that line, kids in previous decades often were driven around by parents who were drinking.

I should know. I was one.

I'm sure it still happens today, but not nearly as much.

[Odin2005]

19. The media has turned us into a bunch of fearful ninnies.

[MadHound]

22. And thus deprived of such outside, active play

Children are growing obese and lacking in imagination and cognitive development.

Sad, really, really sad, driving around my old neighborhood and not seeing kids out in the park, in the streets, yards or playground.

[Brickbat]

23. The excellent, excellent book "Last Child in the Woods" addresses this and I highly recommend it to

pretty much everyone.

[HuckleB]

24. It's an awesome book! I double your recommendation!

[Luminous Animal]

27. Link

http://richardlouv.com/

[yodermon]

28. Wow, Actual Stats:

only 12 and older though.

from http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/glance/vage.htm

[HuckleB]

34. Thanks.

But anyone who's been paying attention knows the data trends.

http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/05/04/free_range_kids/index.html

[yodermon]

68. great article thanx

[KittyWampus]

31. Things that have indeed changed- drugs are way more prevalent. Families broken.

Smaller rural towns gave way to cities and suburbs where there's less neighborhood interaction except maybe on cul-de-sacs.

There is also the factor of parents wanting/needing to control their kids to an extreme.

[HuckleB]

33. Can you prove your assertions?

What has actually changed? Your list is quite vague.

[Missy Vixen]

32. I grew up in a semi-rural area. I'm 49.

We were outside from just after dawn till late at night in the summer, and during school, we could stay outside till dinner time. It wasn't perfect, but we were told to stick together, every adult in the neighborhood was tasked with watching out for the kids, and we all managed to grow up. Obviously, moms were at home for the most part, but we were encouraged to make our own fun, within limits.

We see most of the neighbor kids once a year -- Halloween. One of our neighbor's daughters approached us at a local function to say "hello"; neither of us recognized her.

It'll be interesting to see how things are in 20 years.

[Liberal_in_LA]

66. I'm same age. We roamed the neighborhood and nearby woods freely.

That would NEVER happen today.

[bertman]

35. I have to echo what Missy Vixen said because when I was a child growing up in the

50's and 60's we played outdoors constantly. When it was raining we were inside if it was cold. If it was warm out and raining, we were usually out in it having fun.

The key was that we were always in groups of two or three or more. We rode our bicycles all over town--day and night. The only time we ever had any problem was when the local motorcycle gang wannabees, who rode bicycles and lived in the poorer neighborhoods, would try to beat up on us for getting into their territory.

We never got any warnings about strangers that I remember, but we were smart enough to steer clear of most things that reeked of trouble.

Good post, HuckleB.

Rec.

[HuckleB]

39. Thanks!

Cheers!

:hi:

[Touchdown]

36. Kids don't trick or treat anymore.

I used to do it until 10pm or so, IIRC. We all had a blast, and filled up our pillow cases full of sugary crap.

It's really sad that kids don't do this anymore.

[HuckleB]

37. They do where I live!

What's amazing about the Halloween issue is that no one ever actually poisoned any candy, and gave it to kids on Halloween! Well, I guess one guy did it down in Texas. He gave the candy to his own kid, and thought he could con the cops because he thought it happened all the time!

[Posteritatis]

44. They keep trying to ban it in my neck of the woods

Always with vague references to the number of kids who are murdered in this province every Halloween.

You know, despite the fact that the number's never been anything other than zero.

Got like fifteen kids this year, ten of whom were in costumes, and they started at about 4pm.

[HuckleB]

53. Here's a good piece on this issue...

As Goes Halloween, So Goes Childhood --
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lenore-skenazy/as-goes-halloween-so-goes_b_340163.html

[eridani]

48. This year, we got the first trick or treater that we have ever seen in our

--cul-de-sac, where we have been living since 1982! Needless to say we didn't have candy, and wound up chasing the kid down the street to give her a bag of cashew nuts.

[Mithreal]

46. Good post.

[Number23]

47. As a black kid growing up in Atlanta during the missing and murdered kids saga, I'm scarred for life

I freely admit that. I don't know a single (black) person who grew up during that time that to this day does not have nightmares about that whole period and about Wayne Williams, even though it's been widely reported much more recently that Williams may have been railroaded.

Stranger danger was a very real part of my childhood and it's hard to forget that. Slightly off topic, the Madeline McCann case would seem to be different from the other cases mentioned in the OP's article because the reason the child was abducted in the first place was because of lax parental supervision.

[Tracer]

51. I'v lived in an actual "neighborhood", not a sub-division, since my kids were little.

They are grown now.

I certainly remember them being outside all the time, playing with other neighborhood children. Riding bikes, playing stickball in the street, building forts in the woods, etc.

Now? I NEVER see kids playing outside, and this neighborhood is full of them.

In two houses across the street are 5 kids. In the house on the left are two girls about 6 and 5 with a stay-at-home mom. I've honestly NEVER even seen those girls playing in their own back yard. The other house with the 3 kids is the same. They go outside to get in the car with the mother, and THAT'S IT.

How awfully restricting.

The school bus stop is about 100' from my house. Believe it or not, mothers DRIVE their kids to the stop, rather than have them walk a block or two.

[HuckleB]

52. Luckily, it seems like things are changing (for the better!) in our neighborhood.

More and more kids are coming outside to play. A couple of grade-school age girls who live across the street sold lemonade several times last summer, without a parent in sight. They also came by a few times, asking if we had any "work" they could do to make some money. And we see them playing outside, by themselves, up and down the street. The rest of the kids on the street are under five, but they're outside much of the time, too!

[Greyhound]

59. K&R. And we see the results of legislating based on the most extreme,

and thereby rare, events. Sensationalizing tragedy and dressing it up as a reason to change your life is terrorism at heart. That we fall for it over and over and over is just a sad commentary on the lack of thinking in America.
:kick: & R

[kiva]

60. This map really made me realize the difference:

(map is of Sheffield, UK)

From a 2007 article entitled "How children lost the right to roam in four generations"

http://www.childrenandnature.org/news/detail/how_children_lost_the_right_to_roam_in_four_generations/

Yes, I know it's the Daily Mail, but the study was valid.

edited to add place

[mitchum]

61. The media trumped it up so that kids stay inside and watch television

raising good little consumers

[barbtries]

62. yes.

the world's not the same.

[depakid]

63. "Irrational fear takes a toll in many areas of life"

Truer words have never been spoken- and it's apparent everywhere in the states.

[mzmolly]

64. Yes indeed.

K and R :kick: