Were children safer in the good old days?

Children today are safer than children in the past, but it depends on what kind of danger you're thinking about.

Imagine you're playing outside with your friends. Back in the old days, there were no cars, no buses, and no trains zipping by all day long. That meant fewer chances for kids to get run over while running around. But there also weren’t toys, games, or even parks like today, so sometimes the fun was harder to find.

• In the old days, kids might fall into a well or be bitten by a dog that wasn’t used to people.
• Today, kids might get hurt because they’re playing too close to a street, or they’re texting while riding their bike.

It's like comparing having no ice cream at all versus having too much, both can be tricky in different ways. So even though the world has changed, being safe isn’t always about having fewer dangers, it’s also about having new ones to watch out for. Children today are safer than children in the past, but it depends on what kind of danger you're thinking about.

Imagine you're playing outside with your friends. Back in the old days, there were no cars, no buses, and no trains zipping by all day long. That meant fewer chances for kids to get run over while running around. But there also weren’t toys, games, or even parks like today, so sometimes the fun was harder to find.