howard, while i agree with many of your sentiments, they way you express them is not acceptable in the functioning of this forum. this is not geoexpat, where people get off posting condescending and combative comments.
this forum, is usually a calm, supportive place for parents & mothers in particular to post.
in this instance:
no one believes that there is a child molester lurking around every corner, but to deny that they exist is plain foolish, in my opinion. i was physically molested as a young child by a male babysitter (he came to our church and was in the choir... how was my mum to know?) and also accosted at a playground when a young child when i was playing on the monkey bars with my younger brother.
thankfully, my mother had taught me well how to get away from the latter. sadly, that didn't work for the former.
what mothers are concerned about are the 'what-ifs?' i think EVERY mother shares the same concerns and to diminish them by saying "where did the molester come from?" and that we are inventing the possible scenarios... YES, we ARE inventing the possible scenarios! just the same as when you tell young kids not to play at the top of the stairs, they might fall down.... just the same as when you require your child to wear a helmet when riding a bike... just like when you tell your kid to eat slower or to take smaller bites, so they don't choke!
that's part of being a parent... foreseeing where problems MAY arise and then trying to teach your child how to deal with them...
dealing with my own kids: depends on the public toilets in question. at one of our favourite restaurants, they go on their own. at the airport, i usually take them both in with me... but that's because i'm more concerned with leaving one outside while i take the other one in.
my 7 year old son goes more often by himself. my 5 year old daughter goes by herself sometimes... depends on the situation.
