The Child on the Subway Thing
Not good. Not for me. Dangerous. Just my opinion.
Why?
The risk is way, way, way, way too great. You are trusting your most precious treasure to the hands of strangers. Not any strangers, subway strangers. Subway strangers in New York. So lots and lots and lots of subway strangers. What if he got on the wrong train? Let's presume the kid knew his way around New York and knew the stops like the back of his hand. But let's say he was jamming to his iPod and wasn't paying attention, missed his stop and ended up some place different?
I know ... you play the "what if" game and no one is ever going to leave the house. But we're not talking about an adult here. We're talking about a child. You have to determine your own risk level. Mine, is not that high.
Also, each child is different. This nine year old apparently has proven to his mother that he's independent and trust worthy. My nine year old might be a heathen that I'd be afraid would knock off a liquor store on the way home (sorry unborn child, if you ever read this characterization of you at nine!), and thus, I would not trust him on the subway alone.
Blog Her (of course) has comments, the treasure is this:
Studies have been done that show when in large groups, people tend not to act for fear of what others in the group might think. Second, it is stupid to place the well-being of your child in the hands of strangers. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I've lived in several big cities. I know what dangerous parts of town look like, for the most part. And I've even been on the New York subway. I don't like being on that thing alone. There is no way I'd put my child on one (point in the mothers favor, the kids a New Yorker, and I'm not).
Now, I've spent the most time on the D.C. Metro Rail, which is a completely different beast than NYC. It's much smaller, for one, and much more organized (my opinion, clearly). But their are dark places, and homeless people, and you typically don't see children alone.
Which brings me another interesting point ... not that I'm agreeing with the masses or anything ... but if it's so safe for 9 year olds to ride the subway, why aren't more of them doing it? It's because most parents agree that it's dangerous. And a parents first job is to keep their child out of danger.
Now, to my own experience, I rode the DC Metro all the time by myself. I had to, I didn't have a car. And I remember thinking, this place is completely exposed to trouble. The security was laughable, and there are so many dark places it'd be really easy for bad things to happen. I once took the subway to the end of the line, and took a cab from there to Bowie, where Lewis was living. I don't remember being scared, per say, but I was definitely alert. It was late.
I'd say on average, subways are probably pretty safe. I've never had a bad experience, unless you count homeless people badgering you for money.
But would I want a homeless person coming up to my child, alone? Ehh, probably not.
But I'd also say that some of my most happy memories both as a child and as an adult were subway trips to the zoo, or the museums. It was just fun. Fun for me .... and my mom. :)
Why?
The risk is way, way, way, way too great. You are trusting your most precious treasure to the hands of strangers. Not any strangers, subway strangers. Subway strangers in New York. So lots and lots and lots of subway strangers. What if he got on the wrong train? Let's presume the kid knew his way around New York and knew the stops like the back of his hand. But let's say he was jamming to his iPod and wasn't paying attention, missed his stop and ended up some place different?
I know ... you play the "what if" game and no one is ever going to leave the house. But we're not talking about an adult here. We're talking about a child. You have to determine your own risk level. Mine, is not that high.
Also, each child is different. This nine year old apparently has proven to his mother that he's independent and trust worthy. My nine year old might be a heathen that I'd be afraid would knock off a liquor store on the way home (sorry unborn child, if you ever read this characterization of you at nine!), and thus, I would not trust him on the subway alone.
Blog Her (of course) has comments, the treasure is this:
However, I find it really difficult to believe that if someone was bullying an unaccompanied child that there wouldn't be enough people around for someone to step in and help. In fact, I'll even go one better -- I find it hard to believe that anyone would target a child under those circumstances at all. There are simply too many witnesses.
Studies have been done that show when in large groups, people tend not to act for fear of what others in the group might think. Second, it is stupid to place the well-being of your child in the hands of strangers. Stupid, stupid, stupid.
I've lived in several big cities. I know what dangerous parts of town look like, for the most part. And I've even been on the New York subway. I don't like being on that thing alone. There is no way I'd put my child on one (point in the mothers favor, the kids a New Yorker, and I'm not).
Now, I've spent the most time on the D.C. Metro Rail, which is a completely different beast than NYC. It's much smaller, for one, and much more organized (my opinion, clearly). But their are dark places, and homeless people, and you typically don't see children alone.
Which brings me another interesting point ... not that I'm agreeing with the masses or anything ... but if it's so safe for 9 year olds to ride the subway, why aren't more of them doing it? It's because most parents agree that it's dangerous. And a parents first job is to keep their child out of danger.
Now, to my own experience, I rode the DC Metro all the time by myself. I had to, I didn't have a car. And I remember thinking, this place is completely exposed to trouble. The security was laughable, and there are so many dark places it'd be really easy for bad things to happen. I once took the subway to the end of the line, and took a cab from there to Bowie, where Lewis was living. I don't remember being scared, per say, but I was definitely alert. It was late.
I'd say on average, subways are probably pretty safe. I've never had a bad experience, unless you count homeless people badgering you for money.
But would I want a homeless person coming up to my child, alone? Ehh, probably not.
But I'd also say that some of my most happy memories both as a child and as an adult were subway trips to the zoo, or the museums. It was just fun. Fun for me .... and my mom. :)
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