My generation raised children in an era when horror stories abounded about kids stolen from grocery carts or from the front yard. Urban myths about things that could harm our children were passed around without the means to verify them.

Our parents feared polio; we feared ubiquitous kidnappers, LSD or razor blades in their Halloween treats, and abusive authorities. Once in a while in the early part of the last decade, I had to tell my sons that they couldn’t do something because:  A. we didn’t have time to deal with an injury, or B. I was afraid for them, and there was nothing they could do about it.

When my children were teens, they used to play a game called “Running Man.”  One kid had to get from point A to point B without being spotted by friends who were roving in cars.  The “runners” were ducking into backyards, sneaking around fences and bushes, and not to put too fine of a point on it, trespassing.  When I heard about this game, my fear-meter pegged at “extreme.” I told the kids that it was just possible that they could be arrested or shot while they hid from their friends. And if they happened to hide where a crime had been committed, they could be in over their heads.  Forever.  I put my foot down, but it was firmly planted in quicksand.  My fears, no matter how reasonable and correct, were no match for their peer group.

I wonder if parents will be reluctant to encourage the adventures of their kids.  I suspect that the fate of both Amanda Knox and Meredith Kercher, as well as the hikers who were imprisoned in Iran, are firmly implanted in the psyche of parents around the world. Waiting for a verdict must be very much like the bedside vigil for someone who is gravely ill.  Often the outcome depends on the skill of practitioners who hold the life of your loved one in their hands.  But the truth is that nothing is completely safe, and sometimes kids do things that are unwise.

It doesn’t matter where they are or how much you try to prepare them.  You just have to decide if your family can afford the time and resources if something goes wrong, and whether or not you can override your fears, no matter how reasonable and correct they are.

Patty Luzzi has lived on the Eastside for 33 years. Readers can contact her at pattyluzzi@yahoo.com.