Predators ...and our job as parents?
So. I left the news on last night, briefly, after the end of CSI:Miami (I don't know why I still watch it, Horatio irritates me so, but nevertheless...).
One of their "scare you into watching!" things came on, all about how myspace is the new predator-trawl for your teenagers (dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun)!!! aaaaaaah! They could totally convince your kids to meet them someplace and, like, do stuff to them!
Okay, I know it's really a danger. I do. Heck, I too have encountered some freaks at chat-room-based parties, etc., and thought "whoa I'm so glad I didn't meet that guy alone somewhere. He's creeeeeeepy." I have even gotten a serious "predator" vibe off a few (and not in a good way).
But c'mon. My nephew is on myspace, my stepdaughter is on myspace. Their friends are all on myspace. Do they put their personal information on there (what school they go to, blah blah blah)? NO. Because (le gasp) their parents taught them to be more careful than that, and monitor their internet usage. duuuuh.
geez. If we teach our kids to be smart, and that there are, indeed, icky people out there, sure they'll do stupid things... but the stupid stuff they do is unlikely to be the kind that gets 'em killed.
Often, it's the kids whose parents don't talk to them about this stuff, who don't want to "scare" their kids, who are naive enough to buy into the predator's B.S. I was a teenager online, although in a very different landscape. I had total strangers wanting to "kiss me when we met" and get my phone number so they could "get to know me better." I was creeeeeeeeped out, and if they pushed too hard, I stopped talking to them. We have to give our kids some credit, don't we, as parents?
Of course, as parents, we should monitor our kids' relationships as best we can, and certainly know where they're going on the web, etc... but by the same token, we have to teach our kids to be their own protectors, too, just like we would in R/L. Right? Otherwise we become the Gestapo, and they learn nothing. Then they turn 18, move out in a huff, and get d-e-a-d on the side of the road because we never told them there are bad people in the world.
There's a reason the Grimm stories exist. It's not to give the kids a happy fuzzy view of the world, nor is it to give them nightmares. It's to let the kids know from early on that the world is not all rainbows and daffodils, and there are BAD THINGS out there; smart kids don't take the bait. Smart kids don't make the deals with the monsters.
Sometimes a little scary can actually save their lives, and their futures, particularly with those high-risk age kids, the pre-teens and teens. I'm not advocating terrifying our babies every night; just that we should watch how much we sugar-coat the world. We're not doing them any favors by giving them a view of a world that doesn't exist, are we?
/sigh
One of their "scare you into watching!" things came on, all about how myspace is the new predator-trawl for your teenagers (dun dun duuuuuuuuuuuun)!!! aaaaaaah! They could totally convince your kids to meet them someplace and, like, do stuff to them!
Okay, I know it's really a danger. I do. Heck, I too have encountered some freaks at chat-room-based parties, etc., and thought "whoa I'm so glad I didn't meet that guy alone somewhere. He's creeeeeeepy." I have even gotten a serious "predator" vibe off a few (and not in a good way).
But c'mon. My nephew is on myspace, my stepdaughter is on myspace. Their friends are all on myspace. Do they put their personal information on there (what school they go to, blah blah blah)? NO. Because (le gasp) their parents taught them to be more careful than that, and monitor their internet usage. duuuuh.
geez. If we teach our kids to be smart, and that there are, indeed, icky people out there, sure they'll do stupid things... but the stupid stuff they do is unlikely to be the kind that gets 'em killed.
Often, it's the kids whose parents don't talk to them about this stuff, who don't want to "scare" their kids, who are naive enough to buy into the predator's B.S. I was a teenager online, although in a very different landscape. I had total strangers wanting to "kiss me when we met" and get my phone number so they could "get to know me better." I was creeeeeeeeped out, and if they pushed too hard, I stopped talking to them. We have to give our kids some credit, don't we, as parents?
Of course, as parents, we should monitor our kids' relationships as best we can, and certainly know where they're going on the web, etc... but by the same token, we have to teach our kids to be their own protectors, too, just like we would in R/L. Right? Otherwise we become the Gestapo, and they learn nothing. Then they turn 18, move out in a huff, and get d-e-a-d on the side of the road because we never told them there are bad people in the world.
There's a reason the Grimm stories exist. It's not to give the kids a happy fuzzy view of the world, nor is it to give them nightmares. It's to let the kids know from early on that the world is not all rainbows and daffodils, and there are BAD THINGS out there; smart kids don't take the bait. Smart kids don't make the deals with the monsters.
Sometimes a little scary can actually save their lives, and their futures, particularly with those high-risk age kids, the pre-teens and teens. I'm not advocating terrifying our babies every night; just that we should watch how much we sugar-coat the world. We're not doing them any favors by giving them a view of a world that doesn't exist, are we?
/sigh