CEDO 520 Musings #4

There is no question that I am an overprotective parent. If you are familiar with the commercial, I am like the mom that wraps her children in bubble wrap before allowing them to ride their bikes. In my defense, I believe that the current times necessitate this protective nature, and I would rather error on the side of keeping my children too safe (if there is such a thing). At the risk of waxing nostalgic, when I was growing up, it seemed like a safer world in which we lived. My parents would often let my siblings and me run around unattended in public places, leave us in unlocked cars, and allow us to travel alone to parks. Now perhaps, unbeknownst to me, my parents were hoping that someone would permanently relieve them of their parental duties. But I will rationalize that this behavior by my parents was simply an illustration on how the world was safer for children. My mother would often quip, after I had wandered off in a store only to return later, how she was hoping that I would have gone home with someone else. We will save the psychological trauma and socialization issues that this caused me for a later post. :) But the fact remains that my parents never worried about us being abducted, assaulted, or terrorized in any way.
I think it would be foolish to assume that my children will be safe in the current world. I remember the first time one of my children wandered off in the store. My heart stopped beating for a moment, and when I regained consciousness, I was ready to employ the armed forces in a search and rescue effort. As it turns out, my son had accompanied my wife to a different area of the store. But the point is that we need to be aware of the dangers that exist for our children and develop a plan to always keep them safe.
Sadly, I know that the time will come where I will not be considered the great protector, but I will always view my children and my wife as my most important investments. That being said, I will do whatever I can to keep them safe, regardless of their age. This point became clear to me when I was a junior in college. One of my sisters came home from a night out and was assaulted in my parent's yard. She could always take care of herself, but she perhaps put herself in a situation that could have been avoided. But that is not a knock against my sister, insomuch as it is evidence that there are predators lurking where we least expect it. My parents put me under house arrest for the next few weeks after the suspect had been apprehended because they knew that if I had my way the legal system would be the least of this individual's worries. And now my protective nature is focused on my children.
My children are starting to explore the internet, and I know that my wife and I need to play an active role in their education concerning the pitfalls of its use. We always know sites where our children have visited, and have ultimate veto power when it comes to computer use. But more importantly, we have started to educate our children about being cautious concerning the internet. It is easy to be lulled into a sense of security and to think that nothing bad could ever happen to us. I never want my children to be naive about their safety. Even things that are seemingly innocuous can prove dangerous. Having my children educated about responsible use of the internet and by monitoring their usage, I feel better about the chances concerning keeping my children safe. Will I ever take the bubble wrap off of my children? The answer is probably not, but I do want to empower them to make the right choices, and in turn, give them the best chances for being safe, both in the world and cyberspace.