A TAKE ON OUR CHILDREN'S SAFETY

A friend gave me a link about a touchy subject on parenting. It tackles about giving our children freedom to do things on their own---which would mean allowing them to go from one place to another unsupervised. Now I know it gives you the creeps just thinking about it but I'm asking you to read the article with an open mind and come back here and post what you think.

Stop worrying about your children!

I don't intend to make you do what the author said on the article. Like you, I am totally protective of my child, I live every second of the day thinking of ways to keep her safe but a part of me thinks some of the things laid down on the article is true. Are we too paranoid that we hinder our children from learning and experiencing life? Are our actions baseless? Are the media releases just exaggerrating things about children abduction? These are the things that come to mind.

What I would want to do instead is to teach my child of the potential dangers lurking on the streets (or anywhere for that matter) and arm her with precautions on what to do if she encounters one. I guess the term is, awareness. Let's not sugar coat the bad things that happen.
This way our children are prepared on what is really out there without us worrying too much and trust that they would do the right thing.

I myself was raised with all the freedom I could get. I didn't grow up spoiled and I guess I was always on the right track. My parents didn't just throw me out on the fire without fire proofing me. I was armed with long teachings of what's wrong and what's right and my parents just *crossed their fingers* hoped I do the right decision after that. It's a risk I know, but isn't life a big risk?

Bottomline, we are parents and we all want the best for our children. It's a learning process and it will be for the longest time. I'm a first time parent so I'm getting all the help I could from friends, from veteran parents and yes, online friends. :)

So, what do you think?