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Life is funny sometimes, giving you what you need to hear when you need to hear it.
Just last week I was talking about worry - how much I worry - theridiculous life changing things I worry about.
Then down from the cyber heavens an NPR article, 5 Worries Parents Should Drop And 5 They Shouldn't, lands in my lap. Considering it's been quite some time since anything landed in my lap, I got a little excited.
According to the article, most parents are worrying about all the wrong things.
Based on surveys Christie Barnes, mother of four and author of The Paranoid Parents Guide, collected, the top five worries of parents are, in order:
1. Kidnapping
2. School snipers
3. Terrorists
4. Dangerous strangers
5. Drugs
But how do children really get hurt or killed?
1. Car accidents
2. Homicide (usually committed by a person who knows the child, not a stranger)
3. Abuse
4. Suicide
5. Drowning
Barnes insists that it would be easier on parents if, "every news story came with a little warning at the bottom that said, 'Even though this is very tragic, this is 1 in 10 million, 1 in a million or 1 in 20'. "
Damn media! You mean they sensationalize things??
This unnecessary worrying, Barnes argues, is detrimental to parents, causing health issues and negatively impacting parent relationships with other adults. Not only that but focusing on rare dangers distracts parents from the dangers that matter. *gasp*
Now, I do take issue with one of the items that didn't make the real list - drugs (and alcohol). I think it's likely that the survey data was from parents of the under 10 crowd ... because we know I would never worry about some psycho picking up my 14-year old son, in a van, on the first day of school and taking him to parts unknown ... but I do have concerns about drugs and alcohol.
What does Barnes suggest. She says that according to her research, making kids wear protective gear and buckle up in the car cuts kids' chances of death by 90 percent and their chances of serious injury by 78 percent.
Hmmmm ... I think I'll go out and stock up on duct tape and bubble wrap so that I can focus my worries on homicide and suicide ...
Life is funny sometimes, giving you what you need to hear when you need to hear it.Just last week I was talking about worry - how much I worry - the
Then down from the cyber heavens an NPR article, 5 Worries Parents Should Drop And 5 They Shouldn't, lands in my lap. Considering it's been quite some time since anything landed in my lap, I got a little excited.
According to the article, most parents are worrying about all the wrong things.
Based on surveys Christie Barnes, mother of four and author of The Paranoid Parents Guide, collected, the top five worries of parents are, in order:
1. Kidnapping
2. School snipers
3. Terrorists
4. Dangerous strangers
5. Drugs
But how do children really get hurt or killed?
1. Car accidents
2. Homicide (usually committed by a person who knows the child, not a stranger)
3. Abuse
4. Suicide
5. Drowning
Barnes insists that it would be easier on parents if, "every news story came with a little warning at the bottom that said, 'Even though this is very tragic, this is 1 in 10 million, 1 in a million or 1 in 20'. "
Damn media! You mean they sensationalize things??
This unnecessary worrying, Barnes argues, is detrimental to parents, causing health issues and negatively impacting parent relationships with other adults. Not only that but focusing on rare dangers distracts parents from the dangers that matter. *gasp*
Now, I do take issue with one of the items that didn't make the real list - drugs (and alcohol). I think it's likely that the survey data was from parents of the under 10 crowd ... because we know I would never worry about some psycho picking up my 14-year old son, in a van, on the first day of school and taking him to parts unknown ... but I do have concerns about drugs and alcohol.
What does Barnes suggest. She says that according to her research, making kids wear protective gear and buckle up in the car cuts kids' chances of death by 90 percent and their chances of serious injury by 78 percent.
Hmmmm ... I think I'll go out and stock up on duct tape and bubble wrap so that I can focus my worries on homicide and suicide ...
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