i often wonder whether it is not in reality more dangerous to take my kid for a drive to the grocery store than to let her out on the street all day.
the reality is that i almost can't help being overprotective. if she wants to walk up the street to play with some kids, she either takes me or the dogs. On Dec 27, 2007 6:34 PM, Tom Hargrave <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I believe we are insanely over protective and it's caused by the > information > age we live in. > > Think of it this way - some kid gets brutally murdered 2 states away, it's > all over the net, we read about it, send out millions of emails and we all > pull our children in closer. The same goes for Amber Alerts. It's a great > idea but what happens when one goes out? Again, we pull our children in > closer to protect them - usually against a criminal who has less than a 1 > in > 1,000,000 chance of actually getting close to our children? > > But if this had happened 50 years ago, the murder would have appeared in > next Sunday's paper, probably way back in section C or D. We would have > read > it, expressed some concern for the family & went on. Why? Because it's not > a > "local story" - it happened 2 states away! > > Thanks, > Tom Hargrave > www.kegkits.com > 256-656-1924 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] > On Behalf Of Gary Hurst > Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2007 4:58 PM > To: Banned List; Mercedes Discussion List > Subject: [MBZ] how the world has changed > > my kid informs me that she really wants to go to disney world. i explain > that disney world is a place i really hate, so she ought not hold her > breath. then she suggests that she can go to the park by herself and i > can > go find some other way to entertain myself during that time. i dismiss > the > idea immediately. > > when i think back though to when i was her age, i realize that is exactly > what would have happened had my parents taken me to disney. (my parents, > however, didn't venture more than about 100 miles from new york city, so > no > worries about this actually coming up). by the time i was in the fifth > grade, i was pretty much on my own. i walked to school in the morning and > back home in the afternoon. on days when there was no school, i'd leave > the > house to go out on the street in the late morning and come back at > dinnertime. i walked long distances to go places and would take the bus > or > subway on my own if i had the money to. all my friends lived this > lifestyle > as well and a complete lack of supervision seemed the norm. in fact, the > few children we did know who lived under parental supervision where > considered highly unusual both by us kids and by our parents. > > my dad left hungary after a dispute with the communists and their radical > expansion of power. europe, however, isn't really that big a place, so he > soon found himself living the life of a beach bum in southern italy. he > was > quite a dark skinned man and seemed able to spend all day in sea and sand > without any ill effects. i, on the other hand, burn easily and am > impatient > with just sitting in the sand all day. he came to new york and was a > beach > bum there as well and never lost his love of the beach. > > on summer saturdays we would go to jones beach along with 100,000 other > people. it is a large and well appointed place. i'd hang out with dad > for > half an hour or so, then disappear to find other activities. maybe i'd > swim > a couple of miles down the beach or maybe i'd go check out the basketball > courts. i'd return several hours later after having entertained myself > adequately . this was pretty normal. > > i'm still fond of the beach and take my kid whenever i can. she is never > out of my sight. > > my question is a simple one: were my parents' generation simply negligent > in their outlook or are we simply insanely overprotective? > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > > > > -- > No virus found in this incoming message. > Checked by AVG Free Edition. > Version: 7.5.516 / Virus Database: 269.17.11/1200 - Release Date: > 12/27/2007 > 1:34 PM > > > > _______________________________________ > http://www.okiebenz.com > For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ > For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: > http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com > _______________________________________ http://www.okiebenz.com For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/ For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED] To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to: http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
