Another aspect is, as we've grown more isolated, we've stopped trusting strangers. In most cases, this distrust is entirely unfounded. But no one talks to strangers, so who would know?
A confident child is actually at much lower risk than a timid one. Timidity is a vulnerability, and predators prey on the vulnerable.
Most kids in most places would, I think, be safe if they're with one or two siblings or friends, and if they know how and when to approach adults to ask for help.
Yeah, my kids travel all over the place, together and with a group of friends. They've always been relatively free-range.
People raise their kids to be completely paranoid, rather than savvy and alert. The parents hardly leave the house, either, so that's probably the underlying issue. The kids aren't learning by observing their parents walking and biking and bussing around in public.
Think that depends on locale...pretty much guaranteed to have a stranger say hi to you here, and strike up a conversation...if fact, it's kind of odd if they don't...
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