Based on surveys Barnes (this is from boingboing.net) collected, the top five worries of parents are, in order:

1. Kidnapping

2. School snipers

3. Terrorists

4. Dangerous strangers

5. Drugs

But how do children really get hurt or killed?

1. Car accidents

2. Homicide (usually committed by a person who knows the child, not a stranger)

3. Abuse

4. Suicide

5. Drowning

My daughter came downstairs last night in tears about dying. She doesn't want to get old and die. I told her no one does. Poor thing. I really didn't know what to say to her.

Posted by G to the Race My daughter came downstairs last night in tears about dying. She doesn't want to get old and die. I told her no one does. Poor thing. I really didn't know what to say to her.

I would be willing to bet that this stems from the recent shooting in AZ where the little girl died. Even if you don't let her watch TV at home, chances are they have been talking about it at school.

Living in Az, it has been all over the place here. impossible to escape actually. My kids had a lot of questions, and we tried to answer everything honestly and completely. They had to go through the prolonged death of their grandmother (my mom) last year, and visited her in hospice knowing she was going to die, so death isnt a new concept for them. But when it is talked about as much as it has been lately, new questions come up. They are aware that everyone dies, and sometimes young. All we can try to do is make sure they know that the vast majority of people live long lives, and be there for them.

my .02

A friend with whom I graduated lost his 16-year-old son last weekend. Makes me want to lock my doors and never let my boys out of my sight.

Spend everyday with them like it could be your last.

And as if the initial news wasn't bad enough...
http://www.wgal.co...543567/detail.html

When my five-year-old brings up the subject, I tell her nobody knows how long they'll be alive, so it's important to make the most of the time we have, to be happy, and try to make other people happy, too.

I tell my kids to make the most of their life by screwing over Australians whenever possible.

Posted by MutantMandias I tell my kids to make the most of their life by screwing over Australians whenever possible.

Sorry, I didn;t put this in my post, as I thought it went without saying. Though truth be told, they do a good job of this to themselves on their own.

I actually would like to apologize to the good people of Australia and beg their forgiveness for my rudeness, since I recently heard that they might arrest Sarah Palin if she enters the country.

Posted by MutantMandias I actually would like to apologize to the good people of Australia and beg their forgiveness for my rudeness, since I recently heard that they might arrest Sarah Palin if she enters the country.

There truly are moments when I get a little teary with national pride.

i constantly have these flashes of terror of my son getting hurt. For example we were walking out of a store, and i had the vision of him getting away from me and getting ht by a car. I hate it, but it makes me more careful. So it works out I guess.

A classmate of mine was crushed to death 2 feet from me at school in the 4th grade.Between that and the friends of my Dad's that didn't come back from Viet Nam I suspect it gave me a bit of a warped perspective. When I was trying to explain death to my kids, my wife looked at me like I was a terrorist. Meh. They got the picture.

Posted by Jonsered A classmate of mine was crushed to death 2 feet from me at school in the 4th grade.Between that and the friends of my Dad's that didn't come back from Viet Nam I suspect it gave me a bit of a warped perspective. When I was trying to explain death to my kids, my wife looked at me like I was a terrorist. Meh. They got the picture.

How was the classmate crushed?

voting machine fell on him. this is back when they were 8 foot tall 600 pound grey metal cabinets with actual levers and gears. We were sliding along the gym floor on squares of carpet, pulling ourselves along on ropes. The voting machine had chocks against the wheels, and two of the ropes were tied to the voting machine. Kids pulling got it rocking a little bit. The machine toppled over on Robbie and basically mashed him flat. The boys in the class got it off of him in seconds, but he was already gone. Bad day. I still run into his sister all the time.

That sucks...

What the hell is a voting machine anyway and why was it in the gym?

A machine you vote on, like for president. This was in 76 maybe 77. It was there because the gym was the area voting location. Rural America.

I appreciate that it's not entirely appropriate to comment on other people's parenting styles, but to the enormous bellowing cow in today's playground: if there is such a thing as a formula or recipe for creating a neurotic, miserable child, I think you've found it.