Kids in America Are Safer Than They’ve Ever Been

Hard to believe that headline is true. It feels like a very dangerous time to be a kid. But the truth is different and you should know just HOW different it really is.

• Kidnappings are down 55% since 1992, even though the population has increased about 30% since then.
• The number of kids who go missing for ANY reason is down 40% since 1997.
• 96% of kids who go missing are runaways. Only a tenth-of-a-percent are actually kidnapped by a stranger.
• Kids are 43% less likely to die in a car crash than they were ten years ago, and they're also less likely to get HIT by a car.
• More than 800 kids died from being hit in 1993, but less than 250 did in 2013.
• Binge drinking among high school seniors has continued to become less and less common since 1995, and so has smoking.
• Kids are 59% less likely to be the victim of violent crime than they were in 1994
• Across the board, child mortality rates have dropped almost 50% since 1990.

This data was compiled from many sources, among them are:

• CDC data tabulated by Child Trends.
• Justice Department
• Decades of data on missing persons from the FBI
• National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

...and more. To see the complete list of data sources and more visit the following:

The Washington Post and Business Insider.