From Nationalpost · · 1m
What happened to Block Parents?
How paranoia drove the red-and-white sign from the neighbourhood.
In brief
How paranoia drove the red-and-white sign from the neighbourhood. Block Parents, a Canadian program started in 1968 by Jewish moms in London, Ont., has declined due to shifting child-rearing practices and neighborhood safety concerns. Originally reported by Nationalpost.
Block Parents in Cambridge
Tara Mondou, a Block Parent in Cambridge, Ont., says she wakes up daily to put the Block Parent sign in her window.
“I wake up every morning. I open my own curtain, I put the Block Parent sign in the window”
Block Parents started in 1968
A group of Jewish moms in London, Ont., founded the Canadian program to give children a familiar place for help.
Peak participation in 1990s
Block Parents counted over 500,000 households across Canada during its peak in the early 1990s.
Block Parents declined
The program has disappeared from much of Canada since its peak in the early 1990s.
Shift in child-rearing
Block Parents' decline traces a broader shift in how Canadians raise children and know their neighbours.
Safety concerns
The program's decline reflects changing neighborhood safety perceptions and practices in Canada.
The one thing
Block Parents, a Canadian program started in 1968 by Jewish moms in London, Ont., has declined due to shifting child-rearing practices and neighborhood safety concerns.
