I think that actually many children DID die from some of the things that you cite -- that is why much of this legislation got passed in the first place. Lead paint did (and still does in places with old buildings like NYC) disable and/or kill many kids. Childhood accidents are still a leading (the leading?) cause of death and injury, there are statistics out there to check. And who says that my mother's smoking wasn't a major factor in my older brother's death from cancer at age 4? Fetal Alcohol Syndrome is a difficult and terrible problem (read Michael Dorris' The Broken Cord before making glib comments about drinking and pregnency, please.)
Yes, people have survived much of what you are talking about, but why shouldn't we try and make things safer than before? If you check the historical data, there are almost always reasons (and death of a child or injury of a child is a major one) for protective legislation.
I work with kids all day and it's hard enough to keep them from killing themselves from the most mundane of things (jumping off chairs and tables in the library) that I wouldn't have wanted to be in a library that didn't have kid-safe stair railings, non-lead based paint on the furniture and a host of other things that keep kids from injuring themselves and others.
Also, adults in the past didn't always side with the law -- plenty of cases where parent's power, money or personality was used to keep mean and even psychotic kids out on the streets.
And finally -- you know you are getting old when you start talking about "kids these days"! ;-)
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branchandroot
From and American who actually likes Big Government
Date: 2004-12-19 07:25 pm (UTC)Yes, people have survived much of what you are talking about, but why shouldn't we try and make things safer than before? If you check the historical data, there are almost always reasons (and death of a child or injury of a child is a major one) for protective legislation.
I work with kids all day and it's hard enough to keep them from killing themselves from the most mundane of things (jumping off chairs and tables in the library) that I wouldn't have wanted to be in a library that didn't have kid-safe stair railings, non-lead based paint on the furniture and a host of other things that keep kids from injuring themselves and others.
Also, adults in the past didn't always side with the law -- plenty of cases where parent's power, money or personality was used to keep mean and even psychotic kids out on the streets.
And finally -- you know you are getting old when you start talking about "kids these days"! ;-)