I have a theory on another difference between now and when we were little that impacts the rise in attacks on children. I had, and I bet most of us had, neighbors who knew every move we all made, and not only made sure our parents knew what we were up to, but had no problem making sure we stayed in line. Today, people don't pay attention to the people around them. Alot of parents have such a "not my angel" attitude that if a neighbor went to their door, they are told off for suggesting someones "perfect child" did wrong, so people don't bother. I had a neighbor all us kids in the neighborhood called Nebnose Rose. We all hated her, but our parents loved her. Nobody had a problem telling someone elses kid to cut out the bs or they would get a spank. Not these days, you can't dare correct bad behavior because for all you know the parents might be even worse than the kid as far as behavior goes.
I have no problem telling any kid I see doing wrong to cut it out, or kid not being safe to stop what they are doing. My kids say it's embarrassing, but I don't give a flip. I have made a point of knowing not just my immediate neighbors but people throughout the neighborhood. People know who my kids are and who they belong to, if they see them with anyone else they know there is a problem.
Everyone needs to get back to knowing eachother, helping eachother, protecting eachother and supporting eachother. When I was a stay at home Mom, I saw it as my responsibility to keep an eye on the neighborhood kids whose parents were at work. Their parents were out doing what they had to do, not their fault. I was lucky to be there. They probably think I was Nebnose Rose, but I didn't care. Back to our roots, IMO would help alot.
