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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I haven't read all 8 pages of this thread, but I will tell you a few things that were completely normal back in my day:

--Drano under the sink; no safety locks
--me riding public transportation alone, in an urban area, at 8 years old
--several kids piled in the "way back" of the station wagon; no seatbelts, of course
--as many kids as could fit in the backseat; sitting on laps was the norm. Again, no seatbelts
--smoking everywhere, including doctors' offices
--my grandmother giving me booze for a toothache
--and my personal favorite: when I was an infant, my mother used to visit my grandmother, who lived in a different neighborhood in our urban area. She would leave me sleeping in the stroller outside so I could "get some fresh air" while she visited. Totally not uncommon in those days.

Should those kids have walked alone? I don't know. But the excuse "it used to be OK" doesn't fly on its own merits.[/quote]

Of course "it used to be ok" doesn't fly on its own merits, and nobody is saying it does. What people are saying is that it used to be ok, and it still should be ok.

The risks vs. benefits of Drano under the sink, lack of seatbelts/carseats, smoking, and booze (or paregoric) are clear.

The risks vs. benefits of children riding public transportation by themselves, children walking places by themselves, and babies napping outside in their strollers/prams? Not so clear. In fact, all of these things are routine in other countries.

(See napping babies here:  http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-21537988 )[/quote]

Now we're bringing in other countries? Have you compared the gun laws in the U.S. with, say, Canada? Or the typical living arrangements in Manhattan versus Kenya? Your stats, especially when we're dealing with children in public spaces, need to be specific to the environment.[/quote]

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