Safeguarding children

[Julie noted]

What a strange old world we live in.
We currently have the furore over Saville and all of the children he is alleged to have abused......
and yet, parents still allow their children to wander about, street to street, knocking on strangers doors 'trick or treating' (another stupid import from the land of throwbacks, America). 

I have just had 3 5 or 6 year olds at my door. I had a look outside for their parents/guardians and nobody to be seen. An absolute disgrace. 
If something (God forbid) happens to them their parents will be gnashing and wailing, blaming everyone but themselves.

I NEVER allowed mine out to 'trick or treat', or stand outside shops with a 'guy', begging money for fireworks.
As far as I'm concerned this is wilful child abuse and the parents ought to be charged with neglect. 

[mk1]

I NEVER allowed mine out to 'trick or treat', or stand outside shops with a 'guy', begging money for fireworks.
As far as I'm concerned this is wilful child abuse and the parents ought to be charged with neglect.

I(and everyone else in the 1950's) used to play outside all day.
I remember  playing on the beach with dozens of others and more than a few a few dogs. We  used to like Old Town Tunnel (it ran from the beach at Old Town under the railway line and led to the level crossing) at high tide. The waves would crash through the narrow opening and someone always fell over and got hit by a wave. Many were dragged down the tunnel  but managed to grab one of the big blocks before drifing out the sea end. In all my time I only know of 1 child that drowned at Newburn.
We climbed all over the wooden pier and again kids would be  on the stone base base dodging the  huge waves for fun.
I used to climb to the top of the slag banks or spend all day running through the Burn Valley.
I used to live near the woodyards behind the long back lane (now Tesco) and kids would be playing on the stacks all day every day. I know that 1 child was killed when  one of the stacks fell on him.
In short children were much less constrained in the 'bad' old days.........................

[Lucy Lass-Tick]

Nostalgia is all very well, but the darker side of human nature is surely incomprehensible to 5 and 6 year olds.  If children must 'trick or treat' or tote a guy around surely they should have someone older and more street-wise keeping an eye out for them.

Nothing is new...my childhood home was near some fields which led to an old mill track (not in Hartlepool) and we would disappear off into the fields for hours on end.  One proviso was that we stayed with our pals and kept away from the track because there were 'bad men' there.  We decided that they caught you and made you swim the Channel - oh the innocence of youth!

To let small children wander around the streets in the dark is, as Julie says, inexcusable.