Is this a worrying new trend?

My answer is a bit odd. I believe violence in schools (youngsters hurting youngsters) has risen dramatically over the years. There simply was not the same level of violence in schools as there is not.

I do NOT however believe that violence against children/teens, commited by adults has risen over the years. The only thing that has changed is it's better reported (more widespread, instant reporting) by the media, AND the media has found a way to prey on our fears. Media is almost entirely fear based now days...it gets the best ratings.

Also of course there are companies that are taking advantage of a parents worst fears (harm to their child) and making money on it. There are now all sorts of tracking devices that can be put on a child's clothes, little children are being supplied cell phones, and all kinds of things like that. A real boon to certain businesses.

Yet if you go and actually look at the statistics, child kidnapping, rape, and murder is no worse than it was 50 years ago. It's just MUCH better reported.

I think children should have to learn to walk places, and how to navigate cross walks, and traffic. I think they should have to get off their fannies, and walk, run, skip, or just generally exersize. I think they need to learn common sence skills, like who/what a stranger is (most children will tell you someone scarey in a long black coat....not a pretty blonde woman, or a handsome smiling young man.

The odd thing is, I think it is mostly the child's peers they need to be "protected" from. Children today are for the most part not getting enough parental attention, and are prone to some truely stupid actions....whether that is drugs, doing something stupid while driving, or way early sexual activety.

We are seeing the same trend here in the United States. Indeed the local paper was just begging parents to pack their children onto the school buses this week. This is the week they count the numbers of children, and base the funding for the school buses for next year.

It is both sad, and silly. By the way, here in Idaho, is something I'd never seen before. The school buses only make ONE trip for children. Children of all ages, from kindergarten, to highschool ride the same bus, at the same time. At first I didn't feel this was good to have children of such mixed ages on the same bus. What if two high school boys got into a fight? They could hurt a little child without meaning too. Then I lived through my first Idaho winter. Now I "get it." The winters here can be so brutal, with such blowing snow, that a small child could get lost between their front door, and the bus, and die in the snow.

The children here, from 4-18 years all ride the same bus....for their saftey.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Depends where you live. In NY, lots of people use it. In fact, many adults don't have cars because it's just not worth it. Public transportation is better. In France, Italy, and even Romania - public transportation is good and safe enough for kids to use. I used it since I was 5. Yes, 5, and I was traveling to the country side.

In smaller towns in the US, it's almost non-existent. So, like I say, it all depends on where you live and what is available.

I still say walking is the best thing - especially in Europe, just go in groups, with a buddy if anything. I walked home from the stadium to the other side of town (where I lived in Florence, It) at 3 am. I even got lost and got directions from 2 guys. Florence is pretty safe. It also depends on how safe your city/town is.

It is certainly worrying and not very new.

I gave up owning a car about 35 years ago when my children were about 2 and 5 years old. They were almost unique amongst their peers in not being delivered to school, to parties and to clubs by car. But they are a great deal fitter than their peers and more at ease in a variety of social situations because of not cocooned during their formative years. We also enjoyed fun journeys by public transport (particularly trains) that might well have been more like nightmares cooped up in a car for hours.

Sad to say they both have cars now but at least they are not afraid of public transport and often use it when it is obviously more sensible.

Best wishes

There are a couple of issues here. One is that there is plenty of petty crime (mobile phone theft etc) on busses etc, and kids are most likely to be the victims. Many kids lack discipline as teachers don't have the authority to exert discipline, and even when a kid has a father living at home the use of physical discipline is now taboo.

The other issue is that people way over-react to the level of crime. They magnify problems so that they appear to think that every child is delinquent and every man is a rapist or nonce.

The tragedy is that these kids grow up

1/ being told they are bad,

2/ when they act badly they learn they don't get disciplined...

3/ until they are 18 when they suddenly find themselves on a fast track to jail.

They could have been saved a wasted life if they just has someone in the home who could teach them discipline when they were young enough to learn.

Doesnt it depend upon where you live as well? I know that some cities like new york have huge public transportation systems, to the point it's almost silly to have a car.

Where I grew up...they dont have sub's, never seen a public bus there, I think there might be a taxi or two. So it's walk, bike, or parents as the choices for my home town.

Public transportation does not exist around here. The public transportation in the city is so dangerous even adults try to avoid it. You sure as heck wouldn't let your kids on it.

There are school buses here, though. Other than that and the occasional taxi that rolls in from the city (by occasional, I mean you see one about once every 3 months), you're pretty much on your own getting places. If your parents were like mine and thought you were the biggest fool on the face of the earth when it comes to driving, they had to "taxi" you around.

I walked to school every day but my mother was castigated for 'not keeping an eye' on us. You see as a parent you can fall prey to charges of being both over- and underprotective.

The schools and authorities start campaigns to keep children safe from kidnappers etc, so middle-class parents with cars (outside the US, everyone seems to have a car there) send them in a taxi or drive them. Then they are chastised for not letting them be 'normal' children.

This is perhaps one area where the authorities should inform rather than advise. Also, it would help if schools consulted ALL parents rather than only the busybody middle-classes, these are the ones who condemned my mother my letting me walk to school.

Where I live, in the Mountain West of the U.S., there isn't much public transportation to be had. The nearest public bus stop is at least two miles away from my house. My kids always rode the bus to elementary school (about 5 miles one way), and now ride bikes to jr. high and high school. We live in a relatively safe city, and my older son rides his bike all over town. We are fortunate enough to have miles and miles of paved bike paths here, but in most of the cities I have visited, that's not the case.

As an adult, I do not like taking public transit in my particular area due to being harassed by perverts and crazies on the bus. Ive been honked and whistled at by would be "johns" due to the high number of prostitutes who pretend their normal bus riders and wait at the bus stop with everyone else as a way to hide their dealings from the cops. Ive been followed home by one man who knew where I went to school at because he saw me get off the bus there everyday. I never knew this because I was never paying attention to who was on the bus before. So unless kids are in a group, I dont think its safe for them to take public transit.

In the US people are so fearful of "bad men" kidnapping their precious little brats that most children here never walk or take public transportation. A lot of children over here are fat, obnoxious, over-indulged little brats that could really use a mile or so walk every day. It is a sad trend and I do not see it changing any time soon.