How safe is your teen’s spring break spot?
As you teens and 20-somethings plan their spring break adventures in the sun, you might be interested to know where the most dangerous spots are for young travelers. (Would they care? I’m not sure.)
According to a story from the AJC, Orlando is surprisingly ranked the most dangerous spring break destination.
Daytona Beach and Las Vegas were No. 2 and No. 3 respectively.
“The analysis by Avvo, a legal and medical website, considered a number of statistics in ranking 25 spring break destinations: murders, rapes, other violent crimes, fatal car crashes and Avvo’s data, including doctors and lawyers per capita, doctor rankings and criminal defense issues.”
“Rounding out the top 10 were Myrtle Beach, West Palm Beach, South Padre Island, New Orleans, Panama City, Jacksonville and Miami.”
” ‘Spring break is a time for fun, but you have to be careful,’ Avvo founder Mark Britton said. ‘Avvo’s mission is to help people make informed decisions, and where you go for spring break is an important one.’
“The safest of the destinations ranked was Honolulu, followed by Santa Barbara, Calif.”
Well at least the rich kids will be safe this spring break.
Some of the sites were very surprising: what on Earth bad could be happening at South Padre Island or Myrtle Beach?
New Orleans doesn’t surprise me. It has had fairly high crime rates in the past because it is a large metropolitan city. And I am surprised that Honolulu was listed as super safe. I’ve been to the city and there is a lot of poverty near-by. We were stunned to see tent cities on beaches for the homeless.
So does safety weigh in to where your teens choose to go for spring break? Would they care about this list? How much say do you get in where they go?
(I have two spring break blogs up today. Will you be monitoring your teen’s safety via technology while they unwind and dare I say party? I will have a third unrelated topic pop up around 1 p.m.)
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69 comments Add your comment
Using technology to monitor their spring break safety? | Momania: A Blog for Busy Moms
March 10th, 2011
11:04 pm
[...] are two spring break blogs today and a third topic will pop up around 1 pm. Be sure to see the list of the safest and worst spring break spots. [...]
some guy
March 10th, 2011
11:37 pm
the same thing is going on at myrtle beach as anywhere else. a bunch of under-aged people getting drunk. that’s where the danger is, not the scary homeless people who have the nerve to also be on your beach.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
March 10th, 2011
11:57 pm
some guy — it’s not based on drunk kids — the rankings were based on this stuff —-
considered a number of statistics in ranking 25 spring break destinations: murders, rapes, other violent crimes, fatal car crashes and Avvo’s data, including doctors and lawyers per capita, doctor rankings and criminal defense issues.”
I’m surprised there is much murder or rape in some of those places.
P.S. totally didn’t go on any beaches with tent cities. went to state park beaches — no tents.
DB
March 11th, 2011
1:56 am
You have to read this study carefully. It’s not a study of the most dangerous cities that happen to be spring break destinations. It’s a study of a) spring break destinations ranked by b) a rating of the violence/danger factor in those cities. In other words, first they pulled together popular spring break destinations. THEN they ranked them.
So, saying that “Orlando is the most dangerous spring break city” is certainly a great headline grabber for the website (which rates doctors and lawyers). But it doesn’t mean that it is the most DANGEROUS city one can go to, period. It just means that, given a choice between Orlando and Honolulu, the crime rate in Orlando is higher than Honolulu. No news, there. Same for Santa Barbara.
There ISN’T that much murder and rape in some of these places. If one place has two per year, and the other place has one, then yeah, it has twice as much — but is that statistically significant? Nope. So — no need to panic. And keep in mind that these stats are also SMSA – standard metropolitan statistical areas — and may reflect only a few pockets of high-crime areas that generally aren’t that big of a tourist attraction (parts of Chicago and Los Angeles comes to mind), whereas the rest of the area is probably as safe as your local shopping mall when it comes to crime.
Basically, this is an attention-getting “study” designed to get traffic driven to its website. Clever, eh?
The only “safety” thing I discussed with my son when he was planning a spring break trip was no travel across the Texas/Mexico border. They ended up taking a cruise to the Bahamas and Key West and had a great time. But then, he’s 22 — he can pretty much go wherever he wants at this point. :-)
tc
March 11th, 2011
6:40 am
Did I miss what the danger is? Our family is going to Disney World, and while I noticed the headline and read the article, I felt it was a waste of my time. It didn’t say why it was dangerous. I consider that half news or even no news. It’s just an attention grabbing headline. Tell me why it’s dangerous, what’s happened in the past, what you think might happen this year, and then you have a decent article.
Fremont's 47 Year Old Midget™
March 11th, 2011
7:16 am
Is anybody ever going to let me out of dis trunk? Some preppy kids stuffed me in here last spring break. I sold em some acid and Izod kid freaked on a midget, said I was melting. burb boys have good weed an momma thinks they so sweet. I gotta go pee. Where’s that bottle? oooops..
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
7:50 am
Pretty safe…mine are both here in Atlanta and working.
Photius
March 11th, 2011
8:05 am
Spring Break travels? Only for upper middle class suburbanites paid for mostly by mommy and daddy….
Thanks, DB...
March 11th, 2011
8:15 am
…for pointing out that the whole thing is based on “how many” people go to a certain spot that determines the ranking, and not just the “unsafeness” (is that a word?) of that particular area.
Theresa’s paranoia strikes again….
Motherjane – your kids need to get out more…
lakerat
March 11th, 2011
8:25 am
My 22 year old son graduated from college last May, and was just lamenting the fact that he does not get a spring break anymore and has to go to work everyday (though he is lucky to have gotten a real job) – poor baby (sarcasm intended).
Give it a rest Photius...
March 11th, 2011
8:26 am
…there is nothing wrong with indulging your kids if you are able…
And, motherjane...
March 11th, 2011
8:27 am
…your kids may not be as safe as you think – have you not read that Atlanta is one of the most “unsafe cities” in the U.S.?
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
8:30 am
@ Thanks…you do not know my kids but are welcome to share your insights.
Photius perhaps understands that all kids do not feel entitled to spring break…just like all kids do not expect their parents to provide them a car at 16. That would be the kids he is referring to.
Once, we were on a tour in Boston during our spring break. The driver was telling us about a college kid whose parents he knew. The kid went to Mexico during spring break, He got drunk and jumped from a balcony of a hotel. Wrap up of story…he went to jail and his parents spent $45,000…
as in forty five thousand dollars… to get him back to the states. Guess he got out more than my two.
My kids have gotten out more than most their age…Alaska and Hawaii …hello… and they both know what it means to have to pay bills and hold down a job too.
My daughter’s friends were trying to plan a spring break trip about 6 weeks ago. Emphasis on trying. She called me and told me, “Mom, they have no clue how to do this…I do not see it happening…” Guess what…it did not. They are all at home too.
Mine have gone to camp alone since they were 7 and have traveled coast to coast. If they have not been to PCB with their friends during spring break…oh well.
I never went on a spring break trip, during college, but I have been in all 50 states. Maybe I need to get out more too.
My son went on a cruise to St, Thomas and other islands his senior year at college. He also paid for it himself. WE are fine thank-you.
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
8:32 am
and motherjane…we live here in metro Atlanta and know the dangers…thanks!
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
8:35 am
Just remembered that when we went to Alaska, my daughter friend’s were asking her”
“Why are you going there…to look at igloos?” Yep. those kids are probably at the beach now.
I LOVE the beach but there are other places to enjoy too! Outta here for now..have fun!
Uh, motherjane...
March 11th, 2011
8:39 am
…shouldn’t that be THEY are fine? Yes, you have raised them right, but they still need to get out more WITHOUT you taking them to AK or HI or Boston, etc…They need to live a little without you blazing the way…
And, why didn’t your daughter help her friends plan their trip, even if she was not going?
Lady Strange
March 11th, 2011
8:42 am
I never went anywhere for spring break. I wasn’t the beach goer and spent most of my partying days with friends. Thank goodness I have a long time before my son is old enough for this.
JJ
March 11th, 2011
8:42 am
My child is on her way to PCB right now……..her first spring break trip without the family…..
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
8:59 am
@ uh…son was in a fraternity during college and had several trips with his buddies…no checking in with us….no big deal. He is not on a tight leash with me. He does not live with us. He is on his own dime and can do what he wants, at 23. He told me his pharmacy was short and they scheduled him this week, so he is working. He also has a BIG test on M.
Daughter did not plan a trip because “I am so tired of kids asking me for $5 and then never paying me back. A lot of these kids have NO idea about money and what things cost. I am not about to go on a trip with them. I have a job and I have my own money to spend. They have Mommy and Daddy’s money and that runs out. Then, we are stuck.”
We had dinner with friends last night whose kids are all in college too. The Dad told us of a student, who was overheard on a phone conversation with her Mom;
” I cannot get by on $500 per week for spending money,,,you HAVE to give more..”
HUH?
Here is the barometer I use…when teachers, friends, neighbors and bosses compliment my kids ( as they have done) …they know my kids. When bloggers tell me what to do…not so much. Unless it is one of the bloggers here who know me and my kids. Those folks know who they are and post with a name the rest of us recognize.
Fremont's 47 Year Old Midget™
March 11th, 2011
9:08 am
I went Bass fishin. fish i caught kept sayin she had better minnows than all other fish. Itz EZ to Bass fish from the trunk o dis car.
@ motherjane...
March 11th, 2011
9:17 am
…I know your kids – you talk about them all the time on this blog, and I participate all the time, too, for the past 3 years, so are you saying that I have the right to tell you what to do (”When bloggers tell me what to do…not so much. Unless it is one of the bloggers here who know me and my kids. Those folks know who they are and post with a name the rest of us recognize)?
The is not my intent – I am just making an observation and trying to be humorous, but evidently you do not have much of a humor (not that there is anything wrong with that – oops).
So, I am not judging you, and as I said earlier, but which you must have missed as the steam rose from yur fingers while replying, you have done a good job raising your kids, so enjoy it and lighten up…
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
9:40 am
And, motherjane…@ motherjane…Uh, motherjane….Thanks, DB…sorry I do not recognize you today.
Just got off the phone with DB. I’m good thanks. We laughed at the get out more comment.
No steam here….I do not want my daughter to become Natalie Holloway ( sp?) and am happy that she is not into the party/beach scene. I cannot imagine what those parents have and will go through. Horrible stuff. She was a HS Senior when my son was the same age.
DB
March 11th, 2011
9:51 am
OK, so either MJG is a lax mother if her kids go trolling the beaches of the Gulf Coast, or she is too strict because she is using a whip on them to work during their spring break — which is it? Doesn’t seem like there’s a win-win, here. There are a LOT of people who only wish their kids were as sensible and grounded. I know it’s not very fashionable, but it certainly makes for a lot less drama in one’s life.
Some kids don’t have enough sense to be allowed to go to the grocery store alone, much less to PCB. I always figured that if my kids wanted to go on a separate vacation, they could go as far as their dime would take them. When family members asked my son what he wanted for Christmas, he asked for money to help fund his cruise. It was his dime — we only gave him $100 as a treat so he could go diving. My daughter and I are going to visit Charleston for two days, and that’s the extent of her break — she has a big project due the Tuesday she gets back from break, and wanted to stay home and work on it.
So much for life in the fast lane :-)
JJ
March 11th, 2011
10:03 am
@MJG – $500 a week????? Holy crap…..my daughter gets $250 a MONTH!!!! But her meals are all paid for…..
JJ
March 11th, 2011
10:06 am
DB – The Noisy Oyster, at the end of The Market, is a GREAT Happy Hour bar…..their cosmos are great, and they have an Ahi Tuna appetizer to die for!!!!!! Now I haven’t been there in about 5 years, but it was delicious!!!!
I’ve been to Charleston about 9 times with the girlfriends……we got tired of it, so we haven’t been there in about 3 years……
Becky
March 11th, 2011
10:12 am
I don’t have any old enough to go on spring break alone, so..:~)
I do have some good news (for me anyway) to share..We have a new baby in my family..Scarlett Anne was born yesterday..Today, I found out that my nephew that is in Okinawa, Japan on the military base is safe..So all around, today is a good day for me..:~)
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
10:12 am
@ JJ…Yep! See…there are lots of different kinds of families out there.
Her parents probably agree with the poster above:
…there is nothing wrong with indulging your kids if you are able…
Me…not so much.
I have read a lot about TWG’s kids on this blog but I never presume to know them. That would be a huge error on my part.
Me
March 11th, 2011
10:16 am
Geez, why do you guys feel the need to hassle MJG? — I don’t personally know her either but I’ve read her blog comments for quite a while and I ofterntimes agree with the manner in which she reared her offspring. MJG certainly seems to be a reasonable person who has made every attempt possible to instill personal responsibility into her kids. I’m sure that MJG, like the reset of us, has made mistakes in parenting. This isn’t unusual and isn’t a “bad” thing provided a lesson is learned. I have no idea why I felt the need to defend here but…
Photius
March 11th, 2011
10:21 am
I told my son when he started asking questions about spring break and was thinking about going to the Redneck Riviera, Panama Beach Florida, that the majority of those kids get a free trip off Mom and Dad so they can have a big drunk fest. When my son listens to the stories from his friends when they return he changed his mind and has no desire to engage in that bad environment. Too much booze, fights, taking advantage of girls, etc. Plus, I informed him we will not be funding an adventure of stupidity – especially during high school. Once they are over 18, it’s his choice and it’s too late as a parent to really do anything.
What I am amazed at in America is the continued behavior of parents to indulge their children via money and materialism as if that relates to love and affection and good parenting. Drive by any high school in suburbia and just look at the cars in the parking lot. Every child has the latest cell phone, video game, clothes… way too much stuff given to them from their parents. Parents today continue to feed their children money, especially in their teen age years and it’s simply wrong to enable such behavior. Once they turn 16, get a job and start learning responsibility in addition to budgeting your money. “Dad – I’m broke and need money to buy tickets for the concert – please!!!” NO WAY, learn what it’s like to be broke. Mom and Dad are not an unlimited ATM machine. Parents will then pay for a spring break trip, often times bunking up at nice hotel so Little Johnny or Suzie can go and associate with degenerate behavior from their peers. I submit spring break for a high school student, even if they are paying their own way, should not be allowed. American kids have very high self esteem but often lack in common sense and particular skill sets, another side effect of materialistic parenting. Men feel “proud” they earn enough to splurge on their children to send them to spring break… it’s a warped value system and it’s far too prevalent in the United States.
Give your children everything of what the need, give them only some of what they want.
JJ
March 11th, 2011
10:30 am
Photius – I have always told my daughter, that as long as she is continuing her education, I will support her any way I can. I’ve been a single parent all her life, and I have NOT been able to indulge her as I wanted to. She does have an iPhone, but she bought it with her own money. I still pay the bill, but if she wants a fancy phone, she has to pay for it. Now this summer when she comes home after completing her second year in college, she has two weeks to find a job. If she is unable to find a job, I will take her car away. She has to be able to pay for gas, and her insurance. AND she will now have to work herself through college. I have enough for one more semester, then she’s on her own with paying for college.
I always felt bad that I was unable to indulge her, when her friends (and extremely spoiled cousins) were getting top of the line items. However, my daughter has appreciated what she has and it isn’t some snotty 20 year old. She very grounded, and down to earth. She will not be friends with anyone who acts a fool…….she has dropped numerous “friends” when their behavior was not what she felt was ok……
I feel like I have raised a good person, who will be contributing to society and making her way in this world, and making good choices along the way…..
Becky
March 11th, 2011
10:36 am
@Me..I have met MJG for lunch 3-4 times and have always had a great time..She’s a lot of fun..I have a lot of respect for her as a Mother..Yeah, she does brag on her kids on just about every blog, but in my opinion, she has a right to..Maybe if some parents spent half the time bragging about their kids as they do b*tching about them, their kids might turn out a little better?
@Thanks DB..Please, MJG’s kids get out plenty compared to a coworker that I have..Her daughter is 22 and on her way home from college (4hrs away), she calls her Mom at least 6 times, if not more..They talk on the phone probably 8-10 times per day (work day)..The son is 20 and works appx. 1 mile from the house & he is required to call her when he leaves the house to go to work and when he leaves work to come home..He’s not “allowed” to drive on the interstate or anywhere near downtown Atlanta..It’s to dangerous…They are go somewhere on spring break together..:~)
Photius
March 11th, 2011
10:41 am
I think Mother Jane Gooses parenting style is fine with me, A-Ok. Her parenting abilities are probably better than the majority who post on this blog.
ABC
March 11th, 2011
10:44 am
MJG just comes across as really patronizing. It may be the blog/written format, but still. I’ve been reading her posts for a long time and have not been impressed at all with her. In fact, the lame topics here and posters like her have kept me away from this blog. A huge time waster.
JJ
March 11th, 2011
11:05 am
MJG – Please know that you do not need to defend yourself every time someone bashes you. All us regulars have got your back!!!!
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
11:05 am
Big thanks to my blog friends. I am aware that not everyone here adores me :)
Sometimes, I do not even like myself…dare I say LOL?
Congrats Becky!
Sorry, but...
March 11th, 2011
11:16 am
no one is asking mother jane whatever to defend herself. I agree she comes across as a big know-it-all and really pompous. Not everyone on this blog “sounds” like she does and frankly when I see her name by a post, I scroll right by it.
JJ
March 11th, 2011
11:32 am
OK, so I guess today is bash Mother Jane Goose….I’m out…have a great weekend.
Becky
March 11th, 2011
11:58 am
I’m guessing that if you have kids that have done good, you have a good job and basically are for the most part happy, then there is something wrong with you..Sorry that some feel the need to come on here and pick on them for that..I don’t think that any of us on here are perfect and I don’t recall that anyone has ever said that..
We have all mentioned before that some of the stuff that MJG says, doesn’t make sense to us or that we don’t agree or whatever, but why do people keep wanting to be ugly to her and others just because we all don’t see eye to eye on everything? These blogs are about getting opinions from all different types of parenting skills, so why not stop with the hatefulness?
DB
March 11th, 2011
11:58 am
@JJ: Happy Oyster sounds fun, but since the daughter is underage, it’s probably a little premature :-) We’re just going to hang out, hit the market, wander around the Battery, indulge in a nice dinner, and generally chill!
@Photius: Actually, I agree with a lot of what you said re: overindulgence. I think part of it is that many of us 50-somethings grew up with parents who were born/lived through the aftereffects of the Depression. Your comment, “all of what you need and some of what you want” basically defined my childhood! It’s just interesting what some people consider “needs,” now. Cell phone? Is that a need? Or a want? Cars so kids can drive themselves to school — need (for student or car-pool weary parent)? Or want? Cable TV? (I know one family that unplugged the TV for Lent — the mom admitted to me that she was having major withdrawal, and it’s only been two days!)
RJ
March 11th, 2011
11:59 am
I never did the spring break trips…but I enjoyed many freakniks:)! Anyway, my kids are too young. My teen is 16 and she won’t be doing any spring break trips without us.
Mattie
March 11th, 2011
12:15 pm
Ah well, neither of my two college boys are headed to the beach this year. The older one is on his way home to look for a summer job, and the younger is headed to NC to do a Habitat build. There is a program at his school called Alternate Spring Break, and the competition to take part in it is pretty strong. So…not all college kids are off looking to get drunk this week. Not that they haven’t had their moments!
There's no hate
March 11th, 2011
12:26 pm
just people saying that MJG comes across in a certain way in the blog that might not be agreeable to everyone. It doesn’t sound like anyone is criticizing her parenting per se, rather her general demeanor, which I agree doesn’t always come across as pleasant in this type of venue. Maybe in person she’s perfectly lovely; if so, she may need to work on her virtual presence!
How safe is your teen’s spring break spot? « Buscando Su Casa's Blog
March 11th, 2011
2:05 pm
[...] For more information, click here. [...]
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
4:42 pm
For the record…I do NOT know it all. Here are just a FEW things I do not know much about:
electronics
sororities or fraternities
divorce
cats, snakes or rodents as pets
cars that cost more than $15,000….I have never owned one
teaching most subjects above 5th grade
football, soccer and tennis
cruises
abortion
travel in any country outside of North America
most movies or TV shows…including actors or actresses
living in an apartment.
alcohol
cigarettes
drugs
and the list goes on!
I do know LOTS of things about being a MOM, which might be related to this blog.
I have been one for more than 23 years and since many of the teachers I work with are mothers too, I have learned a LOT from hanging out with them. Tiny nuggets of gold are shared with me about parenting and I have learned so much from listening to others. I prefer not to blaze the trail, in the mistake department, as a parent. Seems sensible for me to listen to others who can help me prevent a blooper or two. In turn, I try to share some advice with others.
Please take it or leave it…your kids are not mine and mine have kept me occupied thanks!
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
4:44 pm
ooops…2nd grade!
motherjanegoose
March 11th, 2011
5:07 pm
Just opened my mail and see another topic where I DO NOT HAVE A CLUE.
The International Reading Association is having their annual conference May 8-11 in Orlando.
I think that is Mother’s Day weekend. Now, I would think that most folks would either want to be with their Mothers or ( if they are Mothers) with their children. Guess they would rather be at a conference! Who knew?
newblogger
March 11th, 2011
5:36 pm
@MJG-I do not know you, but I really enjoy your insight and comments on this blog.
@Photius-It must get really windy way up high on your throne! How dare you? “You look at any suburban high school parking lot,blahblahblah…
Not “every” kid has a new car, new cell phone, etc. Generalize much? My oldest is 20 and yes he is at PCB. (and I do not appreciate your referring to it as Redneck Riveria, as I am from that area. I have all my teeth, use indoor plumbing and have several college degrees.) His spring break trip was paid for by his own hard earned money. He drove a 1985 beat up Ford F150 in high school. He had a cell phone, but kept it only if he earned the right and no, it wasn’t the most expensive and latest gadget. I teach in a very large county and get to meet a lot of high school kids. Are some over-indulged? Sure! But the majority of them are good, hard working kids. You are such a pompous a##!
Whoa, newblogger...
March 11th, 2011
5:57 pm
…couldn’t have said it better myself – welcome to Momania…where none of us know it all, but one of us thinks it our right to try to tell all…
HB
March 11th, 2011
9:49 pm
MJG, I’m familiar with that conference — Sunday is a more of a preconference workshop day. The “regular” conference that the registration fee covers is May 9-11, so many will be able to travel late on Sunday or early on Monday (it’s also international, and those attendees from outside the U.S. celebrate their moms on different dates, I believe). I work for an association that hosts an annual conference and it’s hard to avoid all holidays every year. We’re in the fall and almost always coincide with Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, the Columbus Day long weekend/Fall Breaks, or Halloween. A similar organization we work with has theirs in the Spring and sometimes lands on Mother’s Day in an effort to avoid Easter Sundays (Catholic/Protestant and Orthodox) and Passover. There’s never a good time for everyone, so you just try not to mess up the same holiday every year.
smartmom
March 11th, 2011
9:52 pm
After teaching high school seniors for a while I know what goes on – underage drinking and trying lots of things for the first time – followed by lots of regret later on. I’ll take my teenager wherever she wants to go – I’ll pay for her friends to go with us….but I’ll know where she is while we’re gone. Sending teenagers off to make bad decisions isn’t good parenting.