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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I walked home from my suburban school alone when I was in first grade. When I was in second grade a girl I played with over the summer was kidnapped while riding her bike to a local park and was never found.  Today I work in the news business and every day on the state wires there are so many stomach turning stories of sexual predators, there is NO WAY I'd let my kids out on the street alone the way we used to when I was little. Maybe when they are in 5th. [/quote]

Wow, I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. Every time I hear someone make the argument about stranger abductions being statistically negligible I think about the poor parents of kids who actually were abducted. No, it's not likely, but if I can cut that down to 0 by meeting the school bus, then I sure will (at least, cut it down to 0 in that time frame). I'm sure the parents of the Lyon sisters, the Lisk sisters, Junior Burdynski, Melissa Brannen, and every other child who was abducted and/or killed by a stranger never thought their kid would be "that one." And I also believe there are other ways to foster independence.

What people seem to forget when they say 'well, I used to walk home' is that things were very different then - I walked home too, but many houses on my route had stay-at-home moms there, some of whom would be outside gardening or doing whatever, but keeping an eye on the kids that were around. Now, there aren't as many parents home, and people are also just less likely to be out and looking out for others. It sounds like in the OP's neighborhood they do, and that's great, but not everyone feels comfortable letting other parents assume responsibility for their kids. Just read the threads here about playgrounds and so forth.[/quote]

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