Would you let your young child play in the street?

This question would be a no-brainer to most women readers but I am astounded at the amount of children under the age of six I have seen playing by themselves with no supervision.  If I wrote this blog thirty years ago (let's stretch our imagination) maybe that would be no big deal.  Do you realize the times we are living in?  I warned a new neighbor about four sexual predators that live in our town that was posted on a police website.  Boy was I wasting my time.  Her husband is a cop and she still lets her four and six year old have run of the neighborhood.  As a society, are we in denial about how many sickos there are out there?  If you are one of those parents, let me tell you a scary story.  My cousin knew a woman who was a very lax parent.  She would let her adorable daughter outside by herself anytime she wanted.  She had her own yard but lived close to other houses.  Well, a man across the street just happened to be a pedophile.  He would watch her playing and would have fantasies about her.  The mother got to know of this when the police confiscated his belongings one day and found numerous pictures of her on his computer.  He had taken them while she was playing.  Thank goodness nothing happened.  Perhaps if the mom played outside with her daughter sometimes, she would have seen a creepy neighbor taking pictures.  Do you really know your neighbors?  Can you afford in this day and age to be a lax parent?  The only one who pays for your neglect is your child.  Will you be able to live with that guilt for the rest of your life?