Is it responsible for a parent to let a 12-year-old child ride the NYC subway alone?

by Janine Culotta

Created on: July 02, 2009   Last Updated: July 04, 2009

In this day and age, it would be considered irresponsible to let a child ride on the public subway alone. The population is chock full of crazy people with all types of mental problems. Pedophiles, thieves, murderers and rapists roam the streets in every major city, New York ranking as one of the most dangerous for these types of predators.

The thought of allowing a child of twelve, alone on the New York subway sends chills down my spine. A parent is asking for an abduction of his/her child by letting them ride on public transportation without supervision. Just watch the news to observe a laundry list of crimes committed against children, teens, and even adults. Gangs and bullies wait in hopes of catching an innocent person alone, not to mention a child. School bus trips to school even present problems for some children,multiply that for a child on the subway system.

The best idea would be to send an older sibling or care provider with a child needing to utilize public transportation. Friends may even be risky, due to their immaturity . What would happen if a fight broke out among strangers and it spilled over to the space of the child? How about the child falling asleep and missing his stop and ending up in some unknown destination? Losing a child in New York is my worst nightmare, as is for many parents. The movie "Home Alone" is everyone's favorite comedy. Why? Because we are all fearful of our children being lost in a large metropolitan city such as New York. Playing off our fears and turning this crisis into a dark comedy is why we laugh. I could understand if it were an emergency and a child had no other choice,however, this should not be the norm.

People and children should aways travel in a group. That's the rule. I would hope that the parents who think this is acceptable should take a long look at the police blotters and the dockets at the court houses. The kinds of heinous crimes being committed everyday, around this over populated world, is enough to make you stop and think. "Should I risk a bit of convenience for myself?" Do the right thing and escort your kids to their destination, securely. I recognize this article may seem to be a little "doom and Gloom" or the "Sky is falling", however, the reality substantiates the concerns of this author. We are a society of three hundred twenty million people with an infrastructure that can support two hundred and fifty million people therein lies your problem.

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