Ok, so I guess the million dollar question is: is the world genuinely a more dangerous place for kids now than it was, or is it just that through all-pervasive media we now know about every single crime in detail? Are the kids really risking more by biking or walking to school now, or is it the other way around, that back in "the good old days" they ran higher risk, and bad things happened but we didn't hear much about them?
I know I live in a country deemed a lot safer than the states, but I also know that risk - real, genuine risk - is very hard to gauge, and almost everybody gauges it based largely on emotion. And in general I think society is a lot less accepting of risk now.
You could pick up the old seatbelt argument: "when I was a kid no-one wore seatbelts, and we all survived". But that isn't statistically reliable, and the use of seatbelts everywhere has been proved to reduce fatalities.
There isn't any reason to actively encourage higher risk, but it does become a problem when reducing risk fior children makes it harder for them to become responsible, independent, active individuals. We let our son do all sorts of stuff alone because this is important to us and we're not the worrying types, but to be honest - we're just guessing that he's reasonably safe.
sleepy here. losing my thread...
Winter riding is much less about badassery and much more about bundle-uppery. - malkin
1995 Kona Cinder Cone commuterFrankenbike/Selle Italia SLR Lady Gel Flow
2008 white Nakamura Summit Custom mtb/Terry Falcon X
2000 Schwinn Fastback Comp road bike/Specialized Jett