Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Keep Them Close....

Today was a fairly ordinary day. There was no school due to Veterans Day. We stayed home, Amber got a hair cut, we went to pick up some fresh fruit....that's about it. I had my niece for the day too. For some reason on what was a seemingly normal day, I was reflecting on a few things...

Keep your kids close. Always know where they are, what they're doing, and who they are with. The best thing you can do as a parent is ask, ask, ask. Get all up in it. Get to know their friends, AND their friends parents. Don't be afraid to ask questions like..."Do you let your child play freely outside with no adult supervision? Do you leave them home alone? Do you have guns in your house?". I say these things today because I felt such a great sense of security while I was doing dishes, and making lunch and watching my 10 year old fifth grader who is just months away from middle school, sit at my kitchen table and make a volcano out of play dough, and play school with her cousin, and giggle over nonsense all day. I was so satisfied that I keep a tight rein on my daughter, in a world where I KNOW that girls her age are roaming the neighborhood with who knows who, doing God knows what. It is real. It is out there. It happens every day. More than we care to admit. It is our job as parents to protect our children's innocence. It's our job to protect them from harm, and keep them safe. Amber asked me recently..."Mom, are you ever going to let me have a life?". My firm response? "Not any time soon baby." Keep Them Close...

1 comment:

Marie Marsicano said...

This is by far some of the best advice. I prefer play dates at my house - mess and all - I would rather clean up for hours afterwards but know who my kids are spending time with.

Our parents had this same philosophy and frankly everyone of my friends loved to hang out at our house!!!