Shocking Statistics

THERE ARE NO MORE PSYCHOS OUT THERE NOW THAN THERE WERE WHEN WE WERE ALL KIDS...

...there are only more paranoid, overprotective, lacking common sense parents.

People like you spreading stuff like this is the EXACT reason so many parents are waaaaay over paranoid and scared of their own shadows.

I was a latch key kid... my mother rarely knew where I was from sun up to sun down. But you know what? I'M STILL HERE! Nothing bad ever happened to me, or the 30 other kids around the lake (omg we were unsupervised by water too!)...

Go read FREE RANGE KIDS... seriously. Do it now, everyone.

Here is the problem with those statistics they are percentages of children who were abducted by stranger who....... It does not go into the percentage of children who are actually kidnapped. Those statistics are meant to scare and they do a very good job.

I heard a statistic once that 99% of all children abducted were unattended at the time. It ignore that only .000000000000001% of all unattended children are actually kidnapped. To me that is a statistic like 100% of all drownings happen in water. Does this make sense?

Children should be educated on safety and taught how to stay safe. Just not to the point that they are no longer living life.

One of the many things I taught my kids was if we are separated in the grocery store to walk to the back, look both ways, if you do not see me head to the frozen section and then walk to the produce. The reason is simple we are all going in the same direction we are all doing the same thing. They do not look lost when they are going through the plan they don't feel lost either. Children that are lost are easy targets. You would not believe how many helicopter moms don't even have a simple plan like that. To me that is far more dangerous that letting them play outside.

I didn't think you were fear mongering, I just thought you wanted to be helpful.

I do not know anyone who has been kidnapped. My cousins were milk carton kids but we knew they were with their mom we just had no idea where that was at. That is the thing though, they go into those statistics. My uncle never tried to find them, he could have, he was just lazy and glad to not have to raise them. How many more people are there in those statistics like my cousins?

The U.S. Department of Justice reports

797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing in a one-year period of time studied resulting in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day.
203,900 children were the victims of family abductions.
58,200 children were the victims of non-family abductions.
115 children were the victims of “stereotypical” kidnapping. (These crimes involve someone the child does not know or someone of slight acquaintance, who holds the child overnight, transports the child 50 miles or more, kills the child, demands ransom, or intends to keep the child permanently.)

I think your numbers are off a little. This comes from the Justice Department.

From your own sources

This is from ygoy, which cites no sources:

About 260,000 children are abducted every year in the United States of America. Of these child abduction only about 115 result in very serious consequences, like injury or death.

# 800,000 children are reported missing every year. That is about two children every day [note - this obviously doesn't make mathematical sense but points to the thoroughness and veracity of your source).
# Of the children reported missing, 350,000 are family abductions. That is, they are taken away by family members in violation of custody agreements.
# Non – family abductions amount to 204,000. These include kidnappers who are acquaintances or complete strangers to the victims.
# Only 115 of non-family abductions are stereotypical abductions, defined as those in which a child is detained overnight, transported atleast 50 miles, held for ransom or intended to be kept permanently or killed.

From http://www.intellicorpintouch.com/productsandservices/

Every 40 seconds in the United States, a child becomes missing or is abducted. The vast majority of these cases are resolved within hours.

Convenient that you left out the second sentence, eh? My two younger sons were reported missing this week when I lost them at the mall. We found them within 15 minutes. Not only does this website not cite sources, it sells intelligence services and background checks. It is publishing these stats to sell you a product.

I'll take my info from the DOJ, thanks!

According to the US Dept of Justice (2002 report) 2% of the kids reported missing were victims of non family abductions. 74% of the victims of non family abductions are 12 and older and 44% are between 15 and 17 years old. So I don't see that not letting my 5 year old play in the yard will make him any safer.

Of those 98% of missing kids - 48% are runaways, 9% are family abductions, 15% are lost or injured and 28% are missing for a 'benign explanation' - basically misunderstanding about where they were supposed to be when.

In 2010, 32788 people in the US died in car crashes. In 2008 718 people in the US were killed by cars while riding their bicycles (Institute of Highway Safety). An average of 300 people a year in the US are injured by lightning strikes and 62 die each year (National Weather Service). And yet we do not regard parents who take their children on car rides or teach them to bicycle (with helmets) as lazy negligent people who are blase about their children's safety.

If a child was kidnapped every 40 seconds, every child in America would be gone at some point in their lives. I choose not to live my life in fear and your fear-mongering is just sad.

ETA: Neither of those websites site their sources.

90% of all statistics on the internet are made up. - Abraham Lincoln

It's not about the numbers to me at all. Even if only ONE child is kidnapped by a stranger in the U.S. every year, I will do everything I can to make sure it is not my child.

I think these are interesting statistics, and worth talking about for sure.
BUT these numbers don't prove anything to dispel "few and far between" -- because saying a kid is reporting missing every 40 seconds doesn't necessarily mean kidnapping, that could be kids lost at the mall and found 30 minutes later. What are the raw numbers of kidnapped kids?

You did not reference your source, the numbers mean nothing without context.
You sound judgemental and frankly, a little unstable.
You'd be hard pressed to find a parent that has never considered the possibility of something awful happening to their children but some of us choose to dwell on the positive instead. Someday soon we will all have to let go and hope our kids are ready to keep themselves safe. This happens a little bit at a time over many years through experiences, socialization and challenge. Each parent has to make their own decisions about how to keep their kids safe and shouldn't be judged when it comes to small differences of opinion.
It seems there are some Moms who think having more control over their kids will keep them safer while others feel a little more freedom and responsibilty will better prepare them for the world.
With my girls growing up so fast I am constantly reminded that we are raising future adults and preparing them for independence is vital to their long term success.
The one thing I know is true for all of us is dwelling on the negative and living in judgment of others is counter productive.

Just one. Just ONE child is too many in my book. I don't care about all the numbers or statistics.

No one who has lived through the hell of an abduction ever dreamt it would happened to them. In my mind, it is foolish to let your guard down just because of some stupid statistics.
JMHO

When quoting such detailed statistics you should always reference your source. It's hard to comment on your numbers without knowing where you got them.

Here is a blurb from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, missingkids.org, an excellent and reliable resource, IMO:

Is "stranger danger"—that dangers to kids come from strangers—really a myth?

Yes. In the majority of cases, the perpetrator is someone the parents or child knows, and that person may be in a position of trust or responsibility to the child and family.

We have learned that children do not have the same understanding of who a stranger is as an adult might, therefore, it is a difficult concept for the child to grasp. It is much more beneficial to children to help them build the confidence and self-esteem they need to stay as safe as possible in any potentially dangerous situation they encounter rather than teaching them to be "on the look out" for a particular type of person.

For decades, parents, guardians, and teachers have told children to "stay away from strangers" in an effort to keep them safe. In response to the on-going debate about the effectiveness of such programs, NCMEC released the research-based Guidelines for Programs to Reduce Child Victimization: A Resource for Communities When Choosing a Program to Teach Personal Safety to Children to assist schools as they select curricula aimed at reducing crimes against children.

Sigh, it's ok to have this reminder, I think. Still after reading these statistics, I will likely do everything tomorrow exactly the same as yesterday.

The effect it has on me is to consciously remind myself of my good fortune, love my kids a little harder (as if that were possible), and pray for anyone who's lost a child.

:(

HOLY SMOKES BATGIRL!!! Calm down!!!

I refuse to live my life in fear. I refuse to not like my kids have some of the freedoms I had growing up...yes, bad people were around then - we just didn't have 24 hour news coverage and the internet to give us all the dirty details.

No, I don't know anyone whose child has been abducted. I did have a girl friend in high school, sat next to me in Business Administration, get murdered by her boy friend and buried in a shallow grave in the orange field near her home.

Yes, we have to protect our kids...but not by hovering over them every step of the way...they NEED to be able to self-sufficient at some point in their lives...call me a horrible mom, but:

my kids play outside without me hovering.
my kids go to the park without me.
my boys walk the dog in the evening around the block.

I have left my kids in the car at a gas station that is next to the fire department.

I do NOT leave my kids alone in a care while I'm at a store.

I use the watchdog site to see if there are sexual offenders in our area - and I show them their pictures. Not to scare them but to SHOW them - INFORM them, EDUCATE them.

One of the reasons I allow my kids these freedoms is because my oldest son is a Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do and youngest is a Red Belt. There are specific rules that they must follow...NEVER leave each other alone. There is strength in numbers. And I teach them common sense - well, it can't be taught - but you can teach them that NO ADULT will EVER need a child to help them find a dog, puppy, cat, or kitten. NO ADULT will EVER need a child to smell something to see if I'll like it.

So instead of spreading FEAR - spread EDUCATION...children need to be allowed to be kids...as it it society is forcing them to grow up too fast as it is.

I am questioning about the abduction child missing statistic included with the reported missing child to start with. The true number of children, not just percentages or incidences of what happened to them after they were abducted. My sister wandered off when she was three and the police were called for a search. Although she was not abducted, there was a difference. This would have shown up in the reported missing stat that included abducted children and not all missing children are abducted as in our case.

I question many of the statistics: abducted vs. missing, abductions carried out close to home because most children are close to home and yes if a creeper is going to abduct a child they are probably going to do something terrible.

It remains that the majority of children are not abducted despite these statistics of what happened to the ones that are...not minimizing the terrible situation at all. Kidnappers and child murderers are not the majority of the population and statistics can be presented to be sensational like these that were actually abducted. That does not mean that most children are abducted.

Certainly we should watch over our children. Have I done everything to watch out for my 18 year old daughter and teach her about safety...yes. Do I let her go on the hiking trail at dusk...no. There has to be a happy medium and avoid locking our kids in a bubble.

As far as statistics; whether right or wrong. I will always be overly cautious. Looking for a lost or abducted child is scary. And yes I was involved in such a search back in 1992. Alex at the time was three; he was taken sexually assaulted and murdered. The most difficult time in my and the families lives. Our justice system is a mess when it comes to predators. You can be a helicopter parent or a neglectful parent doesn't matter we are all at risk. It has brought awareness to me and my family. Everyday I think of little Alex and wonder....

One child is too many. PERIOD. Not being with your child or hiring someone else to be with your child is lazy parenting. It's not just lazy parenting, but uncaring, irresponsible, and disrespectful. Children should be our first priority at all times. We should respect the job that we have been given in raising these children and keeping them alive until they are old enough to make their own choices.

I agree with you completely. It seems strange to me that people will take some thing serious and others not at all. A person will usually take finding a child caregiver very serious and be very cautious and wary until they get to know the provider.

Most people would be cautious about the games their kids play, the kids they hang out with, the clubs or sports they attend, and many parents are choosy about food and taking vitamins and taking their children to the doctor.

Most parents push brushing teeth, dressing appropriate, animal safety, and have their kids wear seat belts.

BUT, many of these same parents that are cautious and careful in so many important ways will just open the door and say, go play, go to the bus, and be certain they will see their children again that night.

It's all very sad.

Thanks for the statistics. No need to lecture or "yell" at people though.

Thank you so much for feeding my paranoia-

Short of chaining our kids to the dining table there's not much we can do to change these statistics. We can talk to them about this stuff and arm them with the right tools to use in these instances. Living in fear will do no good. I JUST now started let my 8 year old ride her bike on my street sidewalk alone. She has a cellphone at all times. All of her friends roam the neighborhood and have for quite some time.

Yes its awful to think about these statistics, but what good is seeing them really going to do?

My family lived near another famiy who was going through a rough divorce in the 1970s. The father had no custody and desperately wanted to see his 2 kids. So right around Christmas, he, dressed as Santa Claus, abducted his two kids - it was a mess. The mother got them back pretty quickly.

Fast forward and one of the kids, a boy, was in his late teens. While robbing a store at gun point he was shot and killed by the police. Sad story.

I like what you are trying to do. I totally agree with you!!! I wish all these mama's would get it too...but they won't. It makes me sick that mothers leave their small kids home alone, or alone in the car while they run in a store, or leave their kids alone at the bus stop. But no matter how much we try to get them to 'get it', they won't. They so strongly feel that they are right, we will never change their opinion.

All we can do is keep OUR kids safe, watch them, and protect them. These 'free range' mother's are so deluded thinking that it can never happen to them, all we can do is pray for their kids.