Arizona Number 46 as safest state

As a born and pretty much raised my whole life in Arizona I will gladly comment to your post. When I was younger I remember living on a cul de sac in Mesa where we knew all our neighbors, had block parties, family camping trips, went to the local 7-11 to shop for candy and treats with money we found in our house, given as allowance or birthdays. We walked to school, I even walk to my Jr. High (which was supposed to be a bus ride) 3 days a week to help keep me lean and in shape, and when I was in high school would bicycle all summer long at any time of the day. It was safe to do that back then, because that was 15-20 years ago. Everywhere you go, times change, people change and so do the statistics. We have a lot of illegal immigrants here who over the last decade have been the source to the crime issues and parents now a days aren't as strict with punishment and action with thier children. I know that when I lived in California about 11 years ago, crime in AZ was a lot less than it was there.

Sure we aren't as safe as we once were (what state is), but maybe instead of displaying the issue you should be a part of the community and help clean up the problem. Instead of complaining about it to a bunch of Arizonians and saying you can't wait to leave, maybe you should embark on being a part of a neighborhood watch or PTA to help educate people on the current status and offer ideas on how to make it safer while you must stay here. You never know, maybe 4 years from now when you go to leave, we'll be in the top 10 of safest. Would you stay then?

"It's not to late to become who you've always wanted to be..."

I read the rankings in parents magazine, and some of the areas are stupid, like weather we have a law that makes kids wear helmets or wheather you have to sit in a booster until you are 8. Some of that stuff I think a parent should just do, and it doesn't make your state unsafe for kids.
I love living here, and my kids thrive in a climate where they can play outside and enjoy fresh air on a regular basis. I also feel like I live in a family friendly area with lots of parks and activities for children. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the school system. We moved from northern virginia, and this is definately sub-par. On the good end of things, there are a lot of other education options.

Brooke Romney is an unbalanced mom of three young boys who constantly has too much to do, and too little time. She writes the Mom Beat column for The Gilbert Republic.

my husband went on and on the other night how he feels that moving to AZ was a mistake for one reason and one reason only. He doesn't feel as though its the best place to raise our daughter. (She was born here about a year after we moved to AZ)

He thinks that kids get in to more trouble here, because they are bored and there is nothing for them to do here. I don't know if this is true or not. In a way i feel like a parent can help keep kids busy with extra activities outside of school, without over doing it and stressing them out. But he is more concerned of when she becomes a pre-teen. (I guess they are calling this "tween" now). He has talked to a couple of other parents whose children are or have been addicted to drugs (they are in their late teens) and some teenagers currently in highschool and some of the things they have told him about drugs in AZ schools has caused him much concern. I have told him that i am sure there were different issues our parents were concerned about when we were kids, be we got through it. I think times have changed and that means how we raise our kids has to change with that.

He is also concerned how the AZ government continues to cut money for education. I have to admit this concerns me as well.

We like AZ and honestly - I think we would probably be concerned about all of this no matter where we choose to live. Just because we love our daughter and want to keep her safe.

The recipe for perpetual ignorance is: be satisfied with your opinions and content with your knowledge.
~ Elbert Hubbard (1856 - 1915)

I too remember neighborhood BBQs, and kids riding their bikes all over the area and etc (this was in PA) and I think it's a combination of nostalgia and the times.

I feel the area is safe for my kids, and I think there's a lot more for them to do here than in the small town I grew up in. There will be certain limitations that I did not have as a kid. For example, I lived in a neighborhood with a large wooded area behind it. We used to go play in the woods and our parents didn't exactly know where we were. If my mother needed me, she would stand on the back porch and yell my name until I responded. This is pretty much out for my son. But you know what, it was unbelievably dangerous for me too. Especially since people would hunt out of season in those same woods.

My son has access to museums and parks libraries and festivals and lots of friends, and while bad things do happen to good people, bad things always happened to good people. That's not new.

And I do think I have the commom sense to use safety belts and helmets, if it's legislated, I don't have a problem with that, but it doesn't change my behavior.

I think Arizona can be a wonderful place to raise children. I think a generalization of "Arizona" not being a good or safe place is misguided. I think perhaps Phoenix is being confused as "Arizona".

Phoenix is one of the largest cities in the U.S (I think the 5th). With that in mind, it statistically makes sense that the amount of crime coincides with that fact.

There are many cities, towns and communities all over the state of Arizona that have very little crime.

15 or 20 years ago crime was far less in most communities in the nation. Generally speaking, parents these days also tend to be more educated about taking care of their children and protecting them from potential danger.

Being an extremely vigilent parent, I won't ever feel comfortable with my children wandering a town on their own... no matter their age or location. Crime occurs everywhere, pedophiles are everywhere, kidnappings happen everywhere. Accidents also happen everywhere, children get lost or injured. They also can be victimized by other children. Left to their own devices and boredom these same kids commit a lot of crimes on their own especially vandalism.

I feel sorry for the children of parents who want to move elsewhere so they don't have to supervise their children. 25 years ago I was nearly kidnapped in a small, "safe" community, one of the most affluent in the country.
Most molestation of children is committed by family members and friends of family. Do these parents realize how unsafe even their own households, neighbors, friends homes or schools statistically are?

Hopefully these children will not become another statistic due to a false sense of security or "it won't happen to us" syndrome.

I keep my children busy, they are not bored. I have a teen neice and nephew who just moved back East and were both moved 2 years ahead of their peers in school... they were educated in Arizona schools. Could it perhaps have to do with the parenting??

Take care of your own children, educate your children and entertain them. It's not the governments job, the teachers, the communities or anyone else's. We live in America for goodness sakes. If you don't like the public school then go earn more money to pay for private or school your children yourself at home. Take accountability for yourselves.

lovetwins2003

I lived in SL Tahoe back when Jaycee lee, was kidnapped at her bus stop, I believe that was back in 1990. Her dad saw the whole thing, he was washing the car about 5 houses from the the bus stop and this car pulled up and a women grabbed her, dad couldnt get the keys quick enough to follow the car. I don't think they every found her. There are only 5 ways out of tahoe and the police, sheriff and HP, couldn't work together to put road blocks up. It was a very sad sad day, and any place you live is only as safe as you can make it.
My 11 year old, walks to the park 1/2mile away, with the dog and she crosses the main road to go get Ice cream or buy something I may have forgotten at the store. Yes, I do get nervous but I believe I have done the best possible to raise her to be aware of her surroundings, and we continue to enroll her in street combat classes so she can get away from an attacker.
Tahoe has changed so much now and I don't think it is any safer than a big city.

" just my Opinion" LOL

I will say that times have changed. That is anywhere you live. We have lived in Texas and now here. It's the same. Unless you move to a small town in the middle of nowhere you will have stuff that happens. It's like this everywhere Because times have changed I think as parents we need to recognize this and change our thinking as well and realize that if we didn't supervise or restrict our children from what we were allowed to do then I don't think we are doing our job as good parents. Times have changed you can;t let your children do what we were able to do. I'm sorry but if you do and something happens then you can't be offended if you get put in that "unfit category" It would be unfit as a parent to let your child in today's world rome around free like we did as children. I too like crazymama would get to rome the woods behind my neighborhood and nobody knew where we were are my mom would stand out on the back porch and just yell our name to come home. Sometimes it was after dark. You would be crazy to let your child do that now...That's anywhere.....

Elizabeth is a discussion leader for arizonamoms she writes about everything from her needing mommy advice to crazy and silly stuff that happens. She lives in the West Valley with her husband and 3 children.

What they need to do instead of listing the safest states is list the cities/towns that are ranked the safest. I'm guessing they are small towns where there is not a lot of crime.

If you want to be disgusted with Arizona be disgusted with the fact that Arizona is 48th in the nation for education.

If my husband could find a good job as a professor at a college in another state with a better school system and pay that would allow us to live as comfortably as we do now, we'd leave in a heartbeat. Unfortunately the field my husband is in, is not located in all colleges.

I shudder at the thought of my children being educated in such a terrible school system and unfortunately we will not be able to afford private school (not sure they'd be much better out here).

It is better to be hated for what you are, than to be loved for what you are not.