How old should a child be to go out alone?

Do you remember how old were you when you went out alone first time? How did you feel? Were you scary at that time? What did your parents do and say? Nowadays, numerous parents worry about their children safety problems. They try to preserve children as they can. Because more and more children want to independent; they do not want to relay on their parents every time; they need their parents to trust them. However, child going out alone cause a serious problem. Should parents allowed children to go out alone? How old should a child be to go out alone? When I saw The New York Times, a headline named “With Boy’s Killing, Parents Confront Worst Fears” caught my interested.

This article mainly talks about a boy who implored his parents for permission to walk home from camp alone, then, he got lost and met a stranger who abducted and killed him. This bad occurrence happened on a Brooklyn family. The body of eight- year-old Leiby Kletzky was found amputated two days after he disappeared on a short walk between his day camp and where he was supposed to meet his parents. This tragedy makes most of parents feared, they worry about their children’s safety; they could not imagine if their children get into trouble.

I still remember when I went to school alone, I was afraid of crossing road because there were a lot of cars drove rapidly. However, the crime rate is increased in some countries such as murder, rape, and loot. From my point of view, there is no exactly age on when child should be goes out alone since anyone is not really “safe” anymore. Even though you are an adult, bad things also happen to you. Every one taking a risk when we go out alone and sometimes with people. Nowadays, home invasions are very popular and it is sorrowful to imagine we cannot even be safe in our own homes. On the other hand, children are being hurt by adults and other children at school. As parents, they wish they could watch their kids all the time to protect them, make them far away from danger; nevertheless, that is impossible. Consequently, parents should enlighten their children how to be safe and defend themselves. Parents also have responsibilities keeping children out of as many bad situations as they can. In a word, parents should teach children how to fish rather than give them fishes.

References

With Boy’s Killing, Parents Confront Worst Fears. (2011, Jul, 13) The New York Times. Retreived Jul, 15, 2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/14/nyregion/boys-death-causes-parents-to-ponder-worst-nightmare.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion   

Nitrate in foods: harmful or healthy?

Do you like eating hot dogs? What are hot dogs made of? Nowadays, hot dog is a popular fast food. We all eat them. Parents buy them for their children. Almost all varieties of hot dogs contain sodium nitrite which some researchers declare are carcinogens. What is a sodium nitrite? Why it can cause cancer? Sodium nitrite is a chemical salt used as a preservative and taste enhancer in hot dogs. It is particularly effective against botulism strains. Some consumers were reported that other health problems from ingestion of sodium nitrite, such as blood pressure. When I saw The New York Times, a headline named “What’s Inside The Bun?” caught my interested.

In “What’s Inside The Bun?” this article, it mainly talks about food manufacturers are now pushing the federal government for truthful labeling on the meat, the labeling makes the consumers clearly that which products contain nitrate and nitrite. The United States Department of Agriculture thinks that truthful labeling on the meat should help consumers make decisions when they buy them.

In my opinion, truthful labeling on the meat is very helpful for people. First, it is good for people’s health. As I mentioned early, sodium nitrites play a key chemical roles in curing and processing meats. Some research has indicated that it is associated with higher risks of lung cancer and heart disease. From this, we can know that nitrate in food is not good for people’s health. So, when people want to buy hot dogs, if they see the labeling on the hot dog, they will change their mind to stop buying it. Because they know that can cause some cancers. Moreover, truthful labeling can help us to realize that we should concern about what we eat. People can know the meat is organic or not from truthful labeling. Maybe before that, they did not concern about what is organic? Why we should eat organic food? What are the advantages of organic food? However, when the meat is labeled, it reminds us that not only meat has nitrate, but other food, snacks also have it. In conclusion, people should try to avoid eating food which has nitrate, because it is not good for our health.

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References

What’s Inside The Bun? (2011, Jul, 1). The New York Times. Retreived July, 4, 2011 from  http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/02/business/02hotdog.html?_r=1&ref=health