High street booming

neverdespairgirl

Not at all. She disliked (and still does, probably) their portrayal of womanhood as being skeletal with a tiny waist and massive breasts.

Generali

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

They could do, though.

Public perception of "stranger danger" has changed, but the reality's pretty much as it ever was.

Children don't die as often as they did due to mass immunisation, improvements in medicine and them no longer being required to clean operating machinery for a living. Thus people magnify the small risks that remain, especially the ones they feel they can do something about.

Also, many people are having children later in life so they are less likely to be able to be able to have another should the worst happen.

Davesnave

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

They could do, though.

Public perception of "stranger danger" has changed, but the reality's pretty much as it ever was.

I agree. Sadly,the danger is usually close to home.

It is harder now for children to have their own spaces though. The pressure on land means much that was formerly available has been developed, while most public open spaces are closely managed. Children themselves are also perceived as a 'threat,' meaning that if they hang around together, someone will chase them off, complain to the police and so on.

In the city where I live, nine of the eleven children living within 50 metres of me are seen outside only when walking to school. It is quite worrying. We have a fantastic park a few minutes away, but even the 11 year olds are not able to access it alone.

hethmar

Yes, we were so fortunate. A bottle of tizer, some paste sandwiches and off we went for the whole day playing in the woods and the streams. Unbelievable now. I couldnt even have let my boys do that 20 years back. Mind you I also remember getting stuck up to my knees in some sort of bog, lol and my elder sister crying in case I died there and mum would blame her. Bit of quick thinking and I was dragged out of my wellies and saved

lostinrates

When I think of the miles I wandered alone as a kid, such a short time ago really. I did remeber it feeling stiffling in England comared to other countries. One place where we lived abroad my parents were given a strict talking too though about be wandering alone on the coast and swimming in the sea. (The person tlling them of was horrified when they were pleased I was a wanderer.) Later, in England and about 11 with ponies I was a little more restricted: I was allowed on our road or the bridleway at the end of it alone, and nowhere else, in case there was an accident and I didn't come home the amount of ground to cover looking for me was less and known. I can't say as an adult I'v ever seen 11 year old riding alone at all now, but we all did almost 20 years ago, and we used to meet up and then were allowed on longer hacks, main roads and overgrown almost abandoned bridleways. Two or three of us covered the kind of ground long distance riders would be proud of now. No mobile phones either: kids riding ponies, or sometimes on foot with a dog: you can keep your computer games as far as we were concerned.

neverdespairgirl

Davesnave wrote: »

I agree. Sadly,the danger is usually close to home.

Yes - the people most likely to harm a child are his parents.

neverdespairgirl

Generali wrote: »

Thus people magnify the small risks that remain, especially the ones they feel they can do something about.
.

Also, I think that humans are very bad indeed at judging or comparing risk.

Generali

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

Also, I think that humans are very bad indeed at judging or comparing risk.

There is a ton of research being done into this sort of stuff right now. People judge things that are familiar to be safer than things that aren't for example. They'll also think that something they can control is safer than something they can't (eg all those people that stopped taking the train in favour of driving after the Hatfield train crash).

meester

Oh dear, things are worse than I thought.

Went back today, store is empty apart from a couple of mournful-looking decorations. Sheet of A4 on the door reads 'this store has now closed, your nearest store is in Basingstoke'.

StevieJ

meester wrote: »

Oh dear, things are worse than I thought.

Went back today, store is empty apart from a couple of mournful-looking decorations. Sheet of A4 on the door reads 'this store has now closed, your nearest store is in Basingstoke'.

They should have taken the decs down, it is unlucky you know.