Tuesday, September 28, 2010

A Problem of Perception

A story from the Summer Edition of Play England's Play Today magazine...
A survey by the national charities Parentline Plus and Living Streets, as part of the national Walk to School Week campaign, found that a majority of parents fear their child being abducted or killed in a road accident over the more likely threat to their health from childhood inactivity leading to obesity. Results revealed that 30 per cent of parents feared the abduction or murder of their child while only five per cent expressed concern
over their child’s poor health later in life due to current levels of childhood inactivity.

These figures greatly contrast the statistics that show that the actual threat of a child being abducted or murdered by a stranger is one in one million, whereas a child’s
risk of severe health issues and mortality as a result of lack of physical exercise is one in three.

How sad that parents have been so convinced that "strangers" are lurking behind every shrub to abduct their kids that they have protected them to the point of jeopardising their future health from lack of exercise.