Specter_ said:
Jamash said:
The are demeaning in a way, but until perverts can be trusted not to abduct out children in busy shopping centres, I think they are a necessary evil (for some parents).
Do you know the probability of your child being abducted by a stranger in a shopping mall with you present?
It's slim to none. It's far more probable to be abducted by a friend of your family, which is still less probable than being abducted by a relative.
Of course, with about 70 million children in the US, it does happen. But did you know that most abductions in the US are over 24 hours after the event?
Yeah, I know it's not all that likely, but it only takes one high profile occurrence to put the fear in parents and make them think leashing their children will prevent that happening to them.
I think the key phrase is "with you present", and a leash ensures that's always the case.
I'm sure in the UK a lot of parents still remember the
Jamie Bulger case, and if they leash their kids to prevent something like that happening, you can't really blame them.
Although the chances of it occurring may be 'slim to none', but even a slim chance is unacceptable when it's your kids.
None of this is particularly logical, but fear and hysteria, especially when it concerns children, doesn't adherer to normal logic.