Black Dog Posted January 6, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'm just gonna turn this into a general "dumb helicopter parents" thread. "Taken" star Liam Neeson assures Texas parents their children won't actually get kidnapped in Europe Liam Neeson has had to step in to explain to concerned parents that their offspring will not be captured and taken hostage on a school trip to Europe. Neeson stars in the Taken trilogy, in which he plays retired CIA operative Brian Mills. Mills becomes embroiled in mob activity when his daughter is captured by Albanian criminals as a sex slave. Despite the fact the first Taken film was released in 2008, the Irish-born actor has been contacted twice over the past two years, including as recently as December, by the same South Texan schoolteacher who was struggling to take her students to Europe because of parental concern that has been sparked by the trilogy. Neeson told the Australian press: "These kids had never been outside the state and she was desperate to get some assurance but what I am doing is writing her a letter or a to-whom-it-may-concern letter that she can print out or send to these parents that this is a movie. The chance of your kids being taken in Europe is one in 20 million or something." The teacher had been trying to take 60 students on a tour of Europe, but parents of 40 of them refused to let them go and cited the Taken films as the reason for their concern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 I'm just gonna turn this into a general "dumb helicopter parents" thread. "Taken" star Liam Neeson assures Texas parents their children won't actually get kidnapped in Europe It's Texas. What did you expect? The funny thing is their kids are in way more danger in Texas than they are in Europe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyser Posted January 6, 2015 Report Share Posted January 6, 2015 It's Texas. Could only be worse if they were from Florida. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WestCoastRunner Posted January 7, 2015 Report Share Posted January 7, 2015 Could only be worse if they were from Florida. Not so sure about that anymore (especially if you are not white). The KKK in Arkansas have recruited 40 people just this month and are in the midst of a very active drive to recruit new members with billboards and pamphlets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted January 15, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2015 Parents investigated for neglect after letting kids walk home alone It was a one-mile walk home from a Silver Spring park on Georgia Avenue on a Saturday afternoon. But what the parents saw as a moment of independence for their 10-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter, they say authorities viewed much differently. Danielle and Alexander Meitiv say they are being investigated for neglect for the Dec. 20 trek — in a case they say reflects a clash of ideas about how safe the world is and whether parents are free to make their own choices about raising their children. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Guy Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 For those who feel that kids in a local park do not need supervision; http://kxly.com/news/spokane-news/deputies-racing-to-catch-up-with-sprague-kidnapping-suspect/31703670 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Child predators are drawn to places where children tend to be found. To leave a 9 year old unattended in a public park is irresponsible. I am not sure that it warrants an arrest but the parent should be educated as to her responsibility as a parent. But, you don't have to pass a test to become a parent. I don't know how old you are but where I grew up it was normal for all the kids to play outside unsupervised. I didn't grow up in a city though. Maybe that was the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Not so sure about that anymore (especially if you are not white). The KKK in Arkansas have recruited 40 people just this month and are in the midst of a very active drive to recruit new members with billboards and pamphlets. That's the right they have. Freedom of association. Are you saying you'd like to remove that right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 You are not facing reality. The reality is that this woman is a single parent, now unfortunately, unemployed. Had she had subsidized child care, she would still be employed. As much as you don't prefer single parent families, they are not going away anytime soon.Had she treated her husband properly maybe she would still be with him. Instead of being a single parent. People need to take their vows seriously or just don't get married at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 You are not facing reality. The reality is that this woman is a single parent, now unfortunately, unemployed. Had she had subsidized child care, she would still be employed. As much as you don't prefer single parent families, they are not going away anytime soon. That would be ridiculously expensive. Taxes in the US would likely double to accommodate that. Good luck convincing people they need that. Can't afford to have a child don't expect the state to raise it for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 For those who feel that kids in a local park do not need supervision; http://kxly.com/news/spokane-news/deputies-racing-to-catch-up-with-sprague-kidnapping-suspect/31703670 . So again Big Guy. How old are you? Did you play outside by yourself or did you have bubblewrap parents? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 For those who feel that kids in a local park do not need supervision; http://kxly.com/news/spokane-news/deputies-racing-to-catch-up-with-sprague-kidnapping-suspect/31703670 Yes, let's let anecdotes like this one trump the overwhelming weight of statistics on child abductions. Good lord. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 As a parent, I'm just grateful I've never been forced to make the choices that this woman has had to face. I wouldn't necessarily choose to leave my 9 year old daughter in the park for hours but from the story, it seems she had no good options so I find it hard to find fault. Criminal law is a blunt instrument and its application often leaves things worse rather than better. Really how the hell did most of us survive? Me and my friends when I was that age would spend hours in the forest in behind our homes. No parents around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 That would be ridiculously expensive. Taxes in the US would likely double to accommodate that. Good luck convincing people they need that. Can't afford to have a child don't expect the state to raise it for you. Actually the state loves it when you have kids, So the state can own them. The state wants to provide school, health care, ect, so yeah, they are taking care of your kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 For those who feel that kids in a local park do not need supervision; http://kxly.com/news/spokane-news/deputies-racing-to-catch-up-with-sprague-kidnapping-suspect/31703670 The kids were supervised, and still it happened. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Yeah the story is fairly unclear wrt the whereabouts of the babysitter. Regardless, this story is noteworthy precisely because this kind of thing is so rare. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LemonPureLeaf Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) Actually the state loves it when you have kids, So the state can own them. The state wants to provide school, health care, ect, so yeah, they are taking care of your kids. Private school education is vastly superior so those of us that can afford it take this route. Two educated people, working, can easily be earning more than enough to put children in private school.Its a matter of perspective. We have social medicine in this country so I don't have a choice but to use it. If I could pay for better, private healthcare, I would. Which is why I support two tier medicine. Those who can afford it shouldn't have to crammed into hospitals and medical centres with the welfare people. Edited March 10, 2015 by LemonPureLeaf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Private school education is vastly superior so those of us that can afford it take this route. Two educated people, working, can easily be earning more than enough to put children in private school. Its a matter of perspective. We have social medicine in this country so I don't have a choice but to use it. If I could pay for better, private healthcare, I would. Which is why I support two tier medicine. Those who can afford it shouldn't have to crammed into hospitals and medical centres with the welfare people. Sure you do: you could move somewhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Guy Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 This topic has been discussed from every angle. I could post statistical results of child abductions and child sexual assaults in Canada and the USA. Some posters would say it is an insignificant number while others would say the chances are too great. To allow a child to play unsupervised is a convenience for the parent. Some parents feel the dangers are greater than the inconvenience of supervising while others feel that the dangers are so small that unsupervised play is not a problem at all. Personally, I did not nor would I ever recommend that parents allow a child to play unsupervised in a public park. I suggest that the parents of those 30 children a year (average reported abducted by a stranger in Canada) and/or hundreds of children sexually assaulted a year would now agree with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Dog Posted March 10, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 (edited) This topic has been discussed from every angle. I could post statistical results of child abductions and child sexual assaults in Canada and the USA. Some posters would say it is an insignificant number while others would say the chances are too great. Nobody with a basic understanding of probabilities would say that. To allow a child to play unsupervised is a convenience for the parent. It's also good for children. Some parents feel the dangers are greater than the inconvenience of supervising while others feel that the dangers are so small that unsupervised play is not a problem at all. Some parents "feel" like the danger of vaccination are greater than the danger of disease. Their "feelings" are wrong and so are the "feelings" of helicopter parents who believe stuff like: Personally, I did not nor would I ever recommend that parents allow a child to play unsupervised in a public park. I suggest that the parents of those 30 children a year (average reported abducted by a stranger in Canada) and/or hundreds of children sexually assaulted a year would now agree with me. It should be mentioned that "strangers" in this case includes "close friends or relatives." In other words: not strangers. Actual incidences of random strangers kidnapping kids are about two or three per year. The overwhelming majority of both abductions and sexual assaults are committed by people known to children and in a position of trust. Edited March 10, 2015 by Black Dog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyser Posted March 10, 2015 Report Share Posted March 10, 2015 Personally, I did not nor would I ever recommend that parents allow a child to play unsupervised in a public park.In what world is it acceptable to NOT allow a bunch of 8 yr olds to play a game of sandlot baseball in a park ? Same goes for the outdoor rink in a community park and so on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted April 19, 2015 Report Share Posted April 19, 2015 (edited) This topic has been discussed from every angle. I could post statistical results of child abductions and child sexual assaults in Canada and the USA. None that you understand, though. To allow a child to play unsupervised is a convenience for the parent. And generally good for the child's emotional and psychological development. Personally, I did not nor would I ever recommend that parents allow a child to play unsupervised in a public park. Not surprised. You know, from one of the cites listed earlier, comes information about the consequences of paranoid fearfulness with regard to children. In what is known as the Torrence Test of Creative Thinking researchers found a steady downward slide in the creativity of younger Americans over the years. They are: less emotionally expressive, less energetic, less talkative and verbally expressive, less humorous, less imaginative, less unconventional, less lively and passionate, less perceptive, less apt to connect seemingly irrelevant things, less synthesizing, and less likely to see things from a different angle. In other words, their lack of exposure to the world, their lack of unsupervised, undirected play, have turned their minds off - much like you've turned yours off. We are producing adults who never learned how to grow up, but only to mimic the adults who were their constant companions, never learned how to cope with problems, with stress, with dangers, with social interaction, were never allowed to take risks, even minor ones, and who are thus much more emotionally crippled, and much more likely to seek psychiatric and psychological help, including drugs to cope with the world they find themselves in. What is that going to do to shape our world? Nothing good, I'm quite sure. Edited April 19, 2015 by Argus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 In what world is it acceptable to NOT allow a bunch of 8 yr olds to play a game of sandlot baseball in a park ? Same goes for the outdoor rink in a community park and so on. That was my childhood. And in many cases me and my friends would go into the bush in behind our houses and head up a couple small mountains all out of the eye of any adult. We all came back and in one piece. But without us realizing it, most of the time we played in the neighborhood, we were being watched by a parent somewhere. They collectively looked out for us while keeping distance to really not let us know that they were. Those long summer days filled with hide n seek, baseball and building forts on the bush, how possible is that today? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Argus Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 Those long summer days filled with hide n seek, baseball and building forts on the bush, how possible is that today? The only thing that has changed between then and now is people have become way more paranoid about their kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GostHacked Posted April 25, 2015 Report Share Posted April 25, 2015 The only thing that has changed between then and now is people have become way more paranoid about their kids. The same way people become to paranoid about terrorism. Who is making them paranoid? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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