Safety, then and now.

Lessons on safety and personal protection have evolved quite substantially since 1970. Today, school age children are visited by local law enforcement every year to be disciplined in the new gospel of "stranger danger" and personal safety. In "my day" (ha ha) if law enforcement appeared any where near our school it was largely due to the fact that one of the nuns tripped the convent alarm accidentally and the officer was simply there to "check things out". Today, officers and security guards are evident in just about every school. And this is a sad testament indeed to the society our children are facing. A society that causes parents to fear the world in which they live and to scrutinize every detail of the child's day to be certain they are truly being safeguarded while under the care of an educator. My parents never thought twice about where we were, who lived in our neighborhood, or what sort of people were lurking about in the hedgerow. They had a different faith in mankind and in the humanity of people in general. One which never included the requisite obligation that they stand vigilant over us even as we played in our own backyard - for they never feared that anyone was capable of yanking us from our homes, our neighborhood or our safe environments. Or even if they did, they certainly never showed it or drilled it into our head to never stray too far from them, as most parents are apt to do now.

My mother told me a story once where in the early sixties mothers would park their prams (big giant sleeper carriages) OUTSIDE the entrance of Woolworth's (a local five and dime) - and get this - AND LEAVE THEIR INFANT CHILD THERE while they meandered around and shopped for a bit. The store was two stories and had no means to accommodate getting the prams to the upper floor. If any baby started fussing or crying in their absence, a woman passing by would instinctively rock the pram quite gently and coo at the baby until he quieted back down. Imagine a scene like this today with baby joggers and strollers and carriages parked along the glass entrance way to Macy's or Bloomie's. If the baby was even there when she returned, the mother who did this today would return to find a social worker with a look of scorn on her face holding her child and an armed police officer reading her her Miranda Rights for the offense of child endangerment and neglect. And my mother's story, her experience really, occurred only forty-three years ago. Hard to believe.

Even my mother's admonishments to me in my youth regarding "safety" were vastly different from that which I impart upon my own children -vastly, hugely, great crevasse-type differences. Shall we?

The Ice Cream Man
My Mom Then: "Be sure to wait until the ice cream man completely stops before stepping off the curb."

Me Now: "Mommy doesn't buy ice cream from that ice cream man. See those tattoos all down his arm and that tear drop tattoo right by his eye? Well that means he's killed someone, he's been to jail, and he's trying to sell you crack. Don't go near these ice cream men, they are drug dealers. I don't care if they have the bestest ice cream ever. I don't care if they have the Sponge Bob Square Pants one. Aren't you listening? He's bad I tell you. They're all bad. What do you mean, what's crack? Didn't they talk to you about this in school yet? Gawd, what am I paying that school for?"

Halloween
My Mom Then: "Here's a pillow case for your treats. Stick together and try to be back before it gets really dark." (Because back in the 70's you know, there were two darks: dark and really dark. It mattered that we were allowed out until "really dark". That was big stuff.)

Me Now: "Okay kids, let's stick together now. We are only going to these 10 houses because we know these people really well. What do you mean why? Because if we go to a house we don't know, they may be evil and stick razors in your candy. Oh! Which reminds me, no one eat any candy until Mommy has inspected it all. What's inspected? Oh, it means, checked it out....No I'm not going to eat your candy!.....What? No, Mommy just needs to make sure your candy wrappers are all on your candy. What's that? Why is Mommy holding a can of mace and a baseball bat? Oh, that's because Mommy is going as a TAA Baggage Security person this year and these are the items that you are no longer allowed to carry on an airplane. So Mommy is pretending she's just confiscated these items to give her costume the full effect. What? Yes, Mommy also said it was to beat that Rottweiler with in case it tried to attack us. But that was before when I wanted to be a dog catcher for Halloween."

Giving Directions To a Passerby or Helping a Neighbor Driving Through the Neighborhood Looking For Their Lost Pet
My Mom Then: "Honey, why don't you just hop in the car and show this nice gentleman where he can find Fido."

Me Now: "Okay kids, we are going to go over the (air quotes) safety drill. If some pervert, I mean person stops their car and tries to say they lost their pet, they have nice candy, or your Mommy has been in a terrible accident and she wants you to get in the car so that they can take you to the hospital to see her, what do you do?......What do you mean you help them find their pet? What? No! You don't go near the car to ask them what kind of candy! What!!! OMG! No! You don't get in the car to see Mommy in the hospital...No, baby, I'm not hurt. No, stop crying. Mommy doesn't have to go to a hospital. We're pretending here, stay with me. First! Don't EVER trust them. Why would they need a little kid to help them find their pet? All animals today have microchips under their fur and all pet owners have GPS systems in their cars to track them down - it's required of all pet owners. Remember, they are lying to you. So run! Run away from the car. No, not at this second, I mean if it happens. Anyway, run and scream for Mommy to help you and don't stop until you're with me. Second, if they are trying to give you candy - run! They are really mean dentists and they give out the most sugary candy ever so that your teeth will rot right out of your head and you'll be forced to go to a dentist who takes pleasure out of yanking little kids teeth out. Third. What? No, not all dentists are bad, just the ones who drive up in their car and try to give you candy. Not to worry. All the Moms know which dentists are the good guys and only take the kids there. Okay, third. If someone other than a family member tries to tell you that I have sent them because I've been hurt really bad and I am in the hospital, RUN! (Okay, again, not right now.) Mommy would only send a family member and even then they would have to know the passwords. Okay? So don't believe that person either unless they know our super secret password that only we know. Right? Oh! Almost forgot. And if they say that I've told them the password and they "just forgot it" and want you to give them a hint - just run because they either know it or they don't. Okay? Good. Class dismissed. Oh, hey! Hold up there little one. You almost forgot your anklet tracking device. Okay, you're welcome. Love you too."

Vastly different stuff.