I remember when I was a kid, my parents, while very strict, would always let me go out with my friends to Trick or Treat from the time I was about 8 years old onwards.
It seems nowadays times have changed and kids 10 years of age and under are still accompanied by parents. While working on my Halloween safety story, I found that a lot of parents seemed less anxious about the idea of their children being abducted or sexually harassed and more worried about them coming into contact with bullies or peer pressure.
I suppose things have changed a lot, drugs are more widely used by younger and younger generations and bullying has become much more of a serious issue. While speaking with Constable Foeller (pronounced Fuller) I found myself wondering why are parents so afraid of these issues and not really considering the more obvious. Police will be on patrol as well as community volunteers so bullying shouldn’t be a problem. But sexual predators are well prepared and despite protective circumstances still know how to get children into dangerous situations.
I wonder if we rely too much on the authorities to provide us with protection, or the internet to tell us where tagged sexual predators live within our neighborhood. Despite these protective measures there still are very real dangers out there that parents need to be aware of.
I doubt that this Halloween any child will not make it home safely or that any parent will find a razorblade in an apple, but it is always good to be conscious of the dangers because once we start becoming ignorant to these ideas, that is when they become most threatening.
