Sidney Porter 104 Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 We have a thread about last child in the woods. This is another book that I think people will find interesting. It is a short book and is available free on line https://timrgill.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/no-fear-19-12-07.pdf The book deals a lot with how society evaulates risk and how that has impacted kids. He touches upon a lot of things that might be an interest to scouters. Link to post Share on other sites
DeanRx 69 Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 I've read it, have a copy and often recommend it to a few parents.... it makes some great arguements for WHY we have such a heli-parent problem in this country. As someone who works with / employs college aged kids and our SM is a college professor... I can tell you first hand the spill over parenting from the "fear" point of view has in a young adult's life. IMHO - Last Child in the Woods should be mandatory reading for ALL parents of scouts. Dean Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 In my lifetime it is really amazing how much one's freedom has been replaced with fear. While people make fun of the conspiracy, aluminum foil people, they are in fact just as emotionally crippled. This is something I learned about back in college in the 1970's and it has consistently gone downhill from there. Nice article, now to get people to read it and then to actually believe it. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
qwazse 4342 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 In my lifetime it is really amazing how much one's freedom has been replaced with fear. ... On Bryan on Scouting's forum I wound up wasting words on a fella with a fear-based decision tree: I’d love to see an “ask the expert†response on how to let kids go off without adults and not see yourself arrested for child endangerment or abandonment. Link to post Share on other sites
Cambridgeskip 658 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 There's a similar but broader based book called Risk - The Science and Politics of Fear by Dan Gardner. It's a fascinating read. I've lost count of the number of people who look at me like I'm from Mars when I tell them that their child is more likely to be killed by lightning than an adult they don't know and that if they want to keep their child safe the absolute most important thing to do is teach them to cross the street safely. Link to post Share on other sites
Stosh 3452 Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 It all boils down to who fears what. Kids may fear being alone in the woods. Parents may fear them being there, but then they might fear Social Services i.e. government, stepping in and arresting them for neglect, or some busybody neighbor by the name of Gladys who's just doing her best to interfere. It's pretty much impossible to figure out who's on what side of any issue and who's going to press the button that allows all Hell to break loose on a particular situation. Like the article that Sydney points out, the facts don't always match up very well with the paranoia. Are we now to all be held accountable/a prisoner to a handful of paranoid individuals? Just like sharks can sense blood in the water, the legal profession starts circling when the sirens go off. Stosh Link to post Share on other sites
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