More Than Just Books

When I was thirteen years old, I refused to believe the world was not the beautiful place I thought it to be. My parents told me all the usual things but, still, I refused to believe. They told me to stay away from strangers. They told me to be careful. One day, I was in a fast-food restaurant with my mother. I smiled at a stranger. Big mistake. He frightened us by following us out to the car. He was obviously impaired in some way which was the only reason we beat him to the safety of the car. That was my introduction to the real world. I kept my smiles to myself after that.

I can remember a story about some English children who were getting killed when they crossed the street. They had been taught a rhyme to help them know how to cross the street properly. The adults in the community were stymied when they continued to die until they realized the children would approach a street, recite the rhyme, then cross without really checking traffic. They were young, and they thought the rhyme would protect them.

We can teach our children to follow safety procedures, but it is certain they will pay no attention when the time comes. We have to watch out for them. We have to be involved in what they do and pay attention to their interests. We have to know those with whom they spend time. We have to clear their paths and control their environment. While it is important to teach them how to make good choices, we must offer them only good choices when they are young.

The old threats are still there. Until we have a perfect world, they always will be. But now there are new threats. There is no keeping our children from the Internet, television, and contemporary popular music. It is useless to try. Parents and teachers need to know as much about these things as possible.

Parents must understand how browsers work and how to trace the cyber-footsteps of their children. Purchasing a program designed to keep certain sites blocked is insufficient. None of them are perfect. There are ways around them for the sophisticated user. About the only thing they are good for is for very young children who have absolutely no interest in inappropriate sites. For them I’d recommend just keeping them on a portal for young children.

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