I have been going through the online news this morning, after my The Morning Countdown photos and sipping on fresh coffee, and as I read some of the local news I thought; it is so much harder to raise children today. What once was "safe" is no longer considered a safety net. In one of the local news postings, and upon reading the story, I realized how lucky I had been while my daughters attended local schools. I also realized why so many parents lean toward home schooling for their children.
One topic alone struck a cord with me, Teachers in Garland & Irving Accused of Having Sex With Students. I thought about my own grand children; Garrett and Eli & Jayla and Arianna; and the demons they will face behind a school desk. It has become a normal headline, never acceptable mind you; but we hear about Pedophiles and the children they target all to often.
Not only in our schools but; our churches, our neighborhoods, our homes, day cares, even camping trips. Every place we thought safe, is a potential 'crime scene' for our children, every person we thought trust worthy; a potential criminal. There were many things that were not allowed growing up in our house as a child, and what may have been allowed when we were younger; was no longer allowed as we moved into preteen and teenage years. Boys were not allowed to come over, sleep overs for us girls were minimal, and I don't remember spending the nights anywhere other then my Aunts house. If any of us children were with anyone other then our parents, frequent phone contact was made and sometimes, a unscheduled visit , to just check in.
I considered all those precautions as a young girl unnecessary, as a preteen hated them more, and often seen it as an invasion of privacy, my privacy. Even with all the protection as a child; I became a victim myself... another story in the book of my life, one that I might share ~ one day; but not today.
I worry about my grand children, and what they still have yet to face. Who is watching them as they are sitting at their desk in schools, attending a sleep over party at a friends house, camping trips functions, and even dealings involving any local officials. No one is above the Predator title. With all the lines of communication open for our children, reassuring them to confide in us, and hoping they hear your pleads; there is no guarantee your child will come to you if the need arises. The students in the online article were 16 years of age, the teachers were both male {27 yrs old} and female {26 yrs old}, and the encounter between student and teacher were thought to be greater then 25 times per teacher. Yet, the students kept the encounters to themselves, it wasn't until May of 2011 that both teachers were arrested for their actions.
With all the reassurance we give our children; explaining to them they can come to us and trust us with anything, keeping a good parent child relationship, and even scheduling family talks or one on one talks with our children... the biggest thing that could happen to a child is often left unsaid by the child. Fear of hurting their parents, getting into trouble, being looked at funny by family or friends, and even being deemed no longer trust worthy.
I am sure of one thing, if I had small children in the world of today; home schooling would be my choice. Unscheduled visits and frequent phone calls would happen often when the children were not with me, and being a stay at home mom would be a must. Making myself known to the parents of my children friends would be top on the list, and to ensure open lines of communication with the parents; there would be a "The Parent Round Table" organization formed.. keeping all moms in the loop of daily dealings with each child. The one thing I though was great, and not so great, growing up.. is the whole neighborhood knew each parent and child in New York. There wasn't one thing any kid could do, that the parents did not know about. Today, parents keep to themselves, not the children, and the parents have no idea who lives next door ~ not even their names.
We, the parents, have become disconnected, blind to what happens around our children. I say, it is time to reconnect and get involved with.. the school our children attend.. the functions our children are involved in and with. It was told to me along time ago "It takes a village to raise the tribes children", these are very smart and wise words; and we all need to act them.
https://records.txdps.state.tx.us/DPS_WEB/SorNew/index.aspx is a link I checked into, being informative is the best policy. Knowing who lives around you and your family, is the smartest way to keep all our children safe.
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