My children beat the odds today. They came home from the park alive. Yes, Kyle and I allowed them to walk to the park alone. A walk to the park in our neighborhood includes walking down our long, steep (oh dear!) driveway, along the sidewalk (God forbid!), through a construction zone (nails! broken glass! beer bottles! wires!), through a blackberry patch, along a marsh, across about 40 yards of grass... arriving at the park. Granted, the trek there takes them in a complete circle so they arrive at the park which is located just on the other side of our front fence BUT none the less, I'm branching out. About 10 minutes later, Kyle walked over and enjoyed a picnic in the grass with his BIG KIDS.
After braving the ice cream truck and allowing Ben to play with (eat!) playdough at his own risk, I began thinking about the statistics of kidnapping in more detail.
I wonder if the likelihood of kidnapping varies with each pool of people:
Ice Cream Truck: 42% chance
Park Ranger: 8% chance
Childrens Pastor: 28% chance
Medical Professional: 12% chance
Boy Babysitter: 14% chance
Girl Babysitter: 4% chance
Teacher: 21% chance
Cable Guy: high
"Mom can I go get an ice cream cone from the ice cream truck?"
"Uh... can you see the truck coming?" I yell from the kitchen.
"Yes!"
"Is it an old mail-carrier jeep or an Astrovan?"
"Astrovan."
"Not today honey, we have ice cream in the freezer."
In consideration of the kidnapper reading this post, I won't disclose which day my 5 year old daughter will brave the long trek to the mailbox alone... but it will be this week. And before you give me any advice, please remember that instilling 'Stranger Danger' in your child is not unlike trying to create a shield for getting struck by lightning.
No comments:
Post a Comment