Amber Alert Program

Hi worldwise, Good topic for discussion. I think the Amber Alert system is an excellent idea. However, there are problems. If children are being abducted on a daily basis, why are we not seeing Amber Alerts on a daily basis? I can visit websites that have the Amber Alert ticker for days and not see one alert. I don't see why TV stations, newspapers, and radio stations don't list - daily - local missing children. I know in some markets that the list would be huge. And I know many will say that such an endevour costs too much. Umm, excuse me ?!?! What's more important - a dollar bill or a child's life? I know this subject matter isn't a pretty picture and isn't "good news". But this is life and these children are waiting to be rescused and to be returned home. Despite the times, it still takes a village to raise a child and we are all responsible for the children, whether or not we have children of our own ... and we should still be looking out for these children ... daily ...

we also have this program here in canada and i agree parents cannot be too careful. now that our daughter is 14, she wants to go out with her friends more...we bit the bullet and bought her a cell phone, just so we could keep tabs on her.

I agree. The amber alert program is nice and it has helped to find several children but none of our children are ever safe in this world we live in now. I am very protective of my 15 year old daughter but she never takes these things very serious and one day I am afraid she may get into something and it will be too late for us.

It is very hard to find the right balance between protecting your child and letting them experience life! With my 5 year old it is a lot easier and I can make sure that she doesn't go anywhere without me, when it comes to my 13 year old however it is a totally different story! My son is almost 14 and at the stage where he should be spending more time with his friends and away from the smothering protectiveness of home, learning about life! I find it is hard to make sure he is safe - Obviously I have to give him space and I always ask where he is going , who he will be with and how long he will be (all of which drive him totally nutty!) as well as having his phone with him! I am not sure what else the police and government can do but I do agree we have to keep our children safe! xxx

Yes we live in an awful world, yes we have to watch our children closely. My poor boys don't do half of what I did as a child. I think it's hard to start pointing fingers though. Bad parents, bad law enforcement, bad politicians, and so on and so on. what we need to do is make sure these "things" that do these evil things to children never see the light of day again. Recently, in my small town, there was a man hitch hiking through. The police stopped him and questioned him. They arrested him because he didn't want to give his real name. (this is called obstruction) When his fingerprints came back, it was found out he was out on parole from jail. Served his time, and what was this lovely man out of jail for?? KILLING HIS OWN CHILD !!! Now this story was run in the local paper, and everyone was mad that he was "harassed" by the local police while he was just "walking" down the street. Who would want this man walking through their town? But they were all worried about HIS rights and he already did his time. No time should be sufficient for such a heinous crime. He should have been under the jail, not out and about walking from town to town across the US. Sometimes we can't always be with our children. We work, they go to school. We cannot watch them 24/7, but the sickos can, and do. It has to be a community effort. Instead of placing blame, we should work together, get laws changed. Pay attention to our surroundings. If out and about instead of wondering where a child's parents are and criticizing, why not keep an extra eye on them until you are sure thay are back with their parent. Report suspicious activity to your local police. No need to dial 911, just call the regular number and let them know what is going on in your area. Know who your neighbors are, know who belongs and who doesn't. The police would rather get 100 false calls, or 100 almost calls, then to get the one for real call. Trust me I know.

I think part of the thing with the Amber alert is that it's not always seen. I mean, radio stations get it and announce it usually once or twice during the time period. It's on local stations. It's on myspace now, but if you're not watching a local tv station or listening to the radio or on myspace, you wouldn't even know that there was an amber alert out there. I think parents do also need to keep tabs on their children and just teach their kids how to protect themselves and make smart choices.