Neeum Zawan <m.n### [at] ieeeorg> wrote:
>         And yes, the number of confirmed dead is on the order of 100. But if 
> you're a parent, death isn't the only concern. Being kidnapped for a few 
> days is bad enough.

  Even if we considered being kidnapped (in any way or form) to be about
equally probable as getting killed in a car accident (if we count also
getting injured in car accidents, which can also be quite traumatic, the
number probably goes way up, but as far as I understand it, just the
death statistics are high enough to easily keep in par with the kidnapping
statistics), some other considerations should also be taken into account:

  The risks may be about the same, but the consequences of avoiding the
risks are much worse in the case of kidnappings than in the case of car
accidents. The "solution" to the former is to drive the children everywhere.
This decreases significantly the amount of exercise they get, which is a
huge growing problem in the US. Even when they grow older, they will have
learned the bad habit to drive everywhere, and it's unlikely they will get
rid of that bad habit, thus worsening the problem of not getting exercise
throughout their adulthood.

  Also driving them everywhere is way more expensive, and this money wasted
on gas and car maintenance is always away from something more useful and
educative (such as healthy hobbies).

  Not to talk that growing in a constant state of fear is not healthy.

-- 
                                                          - Warp

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