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Deanie Wimmer ReportingSome recent crimes against children have prompted many parents to re-think how far they'll let their children go from home. We found some eye opening research that addresses how far is too far.
Will you let your kids go by themselves to the street corner? How about the neighborhood burger joint? Many might reason it's ok, because it's close to home. Child abductions are rare, but when they do happen, they happen nearer to your home than you might think.
The sounds and fun of summer pull kids different directions and many parents establish boundaries.
Sydney, 11: "I can go to Smith's and that 7-11 and that 7-11 over there."
For her, four blocks is the limit. Her much younger friend has a one block boundary.
Katie, 7: "I'm only allowed to go to that house and my house."
Mathew, 11: "I can go to the skate park down there by the Boy's and Girl's Club and to the 7-11."
Zack, 11: "I can't go to the 7-11. I can go by it kind of, and I can go all the way down to his house, to the end of the block."
Even though they know the boundaries, kids admit to testing them.
Sammy, 9: "I say, ‘Mom, that's not fair, why can't I just go by myself? It's not that far.'"
The most horrific of crimes against children, abductions that end in homicide, are very rare, but research from Washington State's Attorney General's office shows that "close to home" safety perception is dangerously misleading.
More than half of abductions that led to murder took place within three blocks of the child's home. One third of them were within a half a block.
Pat Brannon/Mom: "It's really sad that we have to keep such a tight reign on them, but you do, that's just the way it is."
Even in neighborhoods where they've set up boundaries and parent phone maps, no longer are these the carefree days of summer.
Raelene Josephson, Mom: "In this day and age, everyone's already on the side of caution. So this heightens it, but what it does, it makes you talk to your children again."
To Stay Safe, the report suggests the single greatest single thing parents can do is supervise their children even in their own front yards. And not talking to strangers isn't enough, we have to teach kids, don't even approach the car or person, turn and run.
