Re:Seattle looks to rein in state policy used to push back o...
by Noos on Tuesday October 08, 2019 @01:33AM
(#21189069)
They have this because people don't trust their kids to walk home or be unsupervised any more, not because of individualistic thinking. And to be blunt, they are not entirely wrong; a dirty little secret of the old days is how much bullying or worse happened among unsupervised kids.
Re:Seattle looks to rein in state policy used to push back o...
by balls187 on Tuesday October 08, 2019 @02:00AM
(#21189219)
> And to be blunt, they are not entirely wrong
Actually they are. Humans are notoriously bad for understanding risk.
The rise in helicopter parenting DESPITE the fact that in no time in American history have children been more safe [1] is due to the fact that we (parents) have access to more information and news, and stories of children being harmed are sensational.
Our children would be fine riding the bus and waiting for the bus stop like we did as kids, but the fact that it's MY child means that I must do everything I can to protect them, regardless of the rationality of it. It is very much about individualistic thinking.
1: https://www.childtrends.org/indicators/infant-child-and-teen...
Tour elementary schools across the nation, and you'll encounter lines of cars waiting to pickup/dropoff children. This is emblematic of the shift that has occurred in pockets of American society--the needs of the individual over the good of society.
Seattle just has unique geographical constraints that exacerbate the issue of individualistic thinking.