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Those involved in rescuing kidnapped children express the opinion that the child that is in the least danger is the one that has learned awareness and is street wise. How does a child learn this? By interacting with the world free of parent suffocation!

Exactly!

When I was about 4, we went to a drive-in movie theater. As was often the case, my parents would hand me a quarter to go to the snack bar and get something--by myself. One time, on my way back to the car with my goodies, some man tried to get me to come over to his car. "Are you my little girl?" he asked, and then said that he thought I was. I just shook my head and went on to my parent's car (I wasn't even scared by the incident).

The whole point is to teach your child situational awareness. Even childproofing the home is counterproductive--people spend so much time trying to create a safe environment (which they can't), and so little time teaching kids to be safe in a dangerous world that they really have no concept on how to be careful. Or they grow up afraid of everything.

There was that time I tried to send my 3 year old son outside to play in 2 feet of snow. That was probably the only time ever that he did not want to go out... but now he shovels snow, so it's all good.