Sticker Shock

I have spent considerable time over the years watching parents and children. In particular, I watch to see how carefully children are supervised when out in public. I do this because I am a self-confessed fanatic where the safety of children is concerned. That being said, I developed a mental exercise several years ago to help me determine whether a child is being supervised properly.

I imagine myself with a pocket full of round stickers that say, "This child could have been kidnapped today". These stickers would be about the size of a silver dollar. If the child were close enough to me and far enough from their parent so that I could have placed a sticker on that child or handed the sticker to the child , then those parents were too far away from that child and there was too great an opportunity for tragedy. I have never really done this because of the liability involved. However, it is an interesting thing to contemplate.

I am discussing this subject today because I spent last Friday on Disney property and had many opportunities to think about my "sticker project". A particular situation occurred at the Disney Ice Cream Parlor in EPCOT. My daughter and I wanted a sundae but there was a very long line inside and very few tables available outside. She stood in the line and I went out to save a table. As I sat outside on the patio, I noticed three young children at a nearby table. The oldest child was about ten years old and the other two were about seven or eight. There were saving a table. However, there was no adult anywhere in sight. There were alone for at least ten minutes, perhaps fifteen.

I suppose it is possible that the parent of these children could have been watching them from inside the ice cream parlor. I suppose that if a stranger had approached the children, the parent would have noticed. I suppose that if someone had tried to lure these children away, they would have not gone. But I'm not sure.

My point is that many parents assume their children are safe from all harm in certain locations. Disney is one of those locations. There is an atmosphere of safety, nostalgia, and worry-free living at Disney. I believe that it lulls parents into a false sense of security and that can be very dangerous.

In all fairness to Disney, however, my sticker project emerged far away from the theme parks. Children are unsupervised all the time in store, malls, movie theaters, and parks.

I challenge you to notice unsafe situations for children and I also challenge you to be certain you keep your own children safe. This does not only apply to very young children; older children are at risk also. I wish this were still a world where children could be children; where they could run and play alone outside or go to the mall alone at ten years old like I used to do sixty years ago. But that is not the case. And you are responsible because you are the parent. Could someone put a sticker on your child today?