"Rosalie B." <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:I think a lot of it can be laid at the feet of the news media who
publicize all the things that happen to children - not just in the
immediate area, but all over the country and sometimes all over the
world - WITH PICTURES. Horrifying pictures - and not just still b&w
photos which would have been in the newspaper, but color moving
pictures.
I agree with Rosalie, that the national news media does have a hand in this.
But interestingly enough, as I started reading this thread after reading
stories of two local students. The first was about a young lady who happens
to be a member of my country club. As a freshman in high school she was
involved in a terrible boating accident that left her with major head
injuries and leg injuries, with one leg almost torn off by the propeller.
The story was how this young lady went from being expected to never walk
again to running, and playing sports again. And then while still working
hard to graduate with her class both her parents were struck with cancer.
And yet she was still able to hold the family together while keeping up her
studies, and graduate with her class. She wouldn't have made the strides
she did without the strong support of her mother, who refused to give up, or
codle her daughter. And though her mom still worries about her daughter,
she lets her go, because she wants her to grow up to be strong, just like
her mother. It's an absolutely inspirational family.
The second story was about a young man in my daughter's graduating class
that died in a freak accident two days after his high school graduation. I
only know the family a little, but all the stories point to how incredible
this young man was: eagle scout, international choral singer with the high
school, trumpet player in the band, outdoorsman. And the quote from his
father in the paper that really hit home was that his son had an amazing
life, and he was saddened he couldn't see the second act. How many of us
can look at our 18 year old children and say they have had an amazing life?
These stories focused on these children not because they were brought up
safe in a scary world, but because they were brought up to take on life.
I've tried to raise my children to be self sufficient. I let them bike or
walk to school on their own starting in the fourth grade, biking with me
before that. By junior high that means crossing a major street, for a
distance of a little over a mile. They went to sleep away camp starting at
age 8 for a week. By the end of high school my oldest was away from home
pretty much all summer. They were allowed to walk to our little downtown
area on their own when they were 11. I let my high school daughter take the
train into San Francisco with friends to go warehouse shopping starting when
she was 14. When she was 16, while looking at colleges with her father, he
had heart problems, and she found her way back from Mass General to her
hotel (three different subway lines) by herself at rush hour. She ordered
room service, and calmly waited for him to come back. (While I panicked on
the opposite coast...) By senior year she was comfortable enough go to San
Francisco with two other girls to film homeless for what turned out to be an
award winning documentary.
On college tours I see many parents struggling. They've been sheltering
their children for so long they aren't sure how to let go, or whether the
kids will be able to live on their own. They ask if there are dorm
chaperones? Are there curfews? How do they know their kids aren't leaving
campus? And I wonder too, if this is the first time their children are
really free to roam, to do whatever they want, how do they know to make the
right choices?
But this isn't new. I see the US, and how the country is willing to give up
so much to try and be safe. Individual lives are just paralleling the
country as a whole.
