Kids today are just as safe as they were in the '70s, says author

[natty bumppo 297]

By Katharine Mieszkowski, Salon

Over the past year, syndicated columnist Lenore Skenazy, 49, has become something of a heretic. She's an American mother of two boys, now 11 and 13, who dares to suggest that today's kids aren't growing up in constant state of near peril.Amid the cacophony of terrifying Amber Alerts and safety tips for every holiday, Skenazy is a chipper alternative, arguing that raising children in the United States now isn't more dangerous than it was when today's generation of parents were young. And back then, it was reasonably safe, too. So why does shooing the kids outside and telling them to have fun and be home by dark seem irresponsible to so many middle-class parents today?

Amber Alerts were around when I was a child ? that is a recent invention ... circa '96 ... with the national release '02.

so .. how many here were children in '02? probably lots