Safety comes first - not laziness (Keeping Your Child Safe from the Outside World)

Member Name: Biffa

Product:	Keeping Your Child Safe from the Outside World
Date:	04/02/01 (11 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Keep your child safe

Disadvantages: There are none

Strange title for an opinion I know, but hopefully all will become clear.

A girl in our road has two young kids, one aged 1 year and the eldest is 4 years old. She's a young mother who got in with the wrong crowd, so please don't think I'm having a go at young mothers in general. It wasn't unusual for us to see the 4 year old walking to the shop (a good 5 minute walk away) without shoes and socks on to go and get his mum a pint of milk. HELLO???! My eldest daughter is 2 in March, and there's no way on this earth that I'd send her to the shop for me at the age of 4, with or without shoes on.

Some people seem to think that children were put on this earth to run errands for the adults. Ok, so "pass me the remote control please" isn't likely to stretch them too far, but sending them to the shop at such a young age is pure laziness. What if he forgot to look both ways before crossing the road? What if he was taken by someone?

Child saftey is something we should all be concerned about, whether we are parents or not. Cases like Sarah Payne don't just happen to someone else, it could be a child in your street or neighbourhood.

My daughters will be lucky to be allowed out on their own by the time they're 12. I know children need their own independance etc but at what price? I certainly don't want to see either of my daughters hanging around on the streets with their mates after dark at the age of 7.

Children are precious and should be looked after - don't let your child become another statistic.

Changing the subject slightly, with summer coming can I just remind everyone how stupid it is to have your child wearing a 'personalised' t shirt. If someone comes up to them and says "Hello Tracy" or "Hello Simon" because it's emblazoned across their chest, how will the child know that this person is a stranger??? It may be fashion, but
it's bloody stupid - it's an open invitation for someone to try and take them away on the basis that they know the child's name. I'm sure you all know what I'm getting at.

****By the way, our neighbour no longer has her children with her - they're now with her mother-in-law apparently - make of that what you will*****

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