Etan Patz and the helicopter parent fear of stranger danger
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Lenore Skenazy Guest blogger
Hi Readers 鈥� By now I鈥檓 sure you鈥檝e heard ofnew leads in the Etan Patz case, the missing child case that may have marked the beginning of our obsession with stranger-danger. Now comes in of all places, reminding parents to be worried all the time about abduction.
As if this fear had slipped most parents鈥� minds. As if it鈥檚 helpful for anyone to focus on the idea of their children being murdered. As if stranger-danger is even a valid concept, considering that the vast majority of crimes against children are committed by people they know.
It is so easy to send parents into a tailspin of terror by mentioning the Patz case. I鈥檓 one of them. That鈥檚 why I try not to think about it too much. Not out of any 鈥渄enial.鈥� Just out of emotional self-preservation, which in turn allows me to preserve my children鈥檚 freedom.
At some point I鈥檒l address the latest iteration of this stranger-danger obsession of ours: A recent magazine show featuring a creepy ice cream man trying to lure children into his clutches. The idea that there are any non-psychopathic ice cream men in America is becoming increasingly hard to grasp.
But that鈥檚 for another post. Right now, let鈥檚 just take one quick glimpse at the Psychology Today piece, by a woman named Susan Newman, who writes:
鈥淵es,听childhood is supposed to be a period of innocence, but as long as people who prey on children exist, parents must be watchful鈥�. Reopening the public to the Etan Patz case hopefully will caution parents to dangers sadly still present.
Leave it to others to parse why a crime that happened 33 years ago is a good way to remind parents of dangers 鈥渟till present,鈥� I鈥檓 going to go get some ice cream. (If I don鈥檛 ever post again, alert the police. And Psychology Today.)
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