Posted by: Jesselp
Teaching Children To Survive In The World - 07/14/11 12:24 PM
While the Casey Anthony trial has been getting most of the airtime recently, this horrific story just took place in my backyard: NY Times: Leiby Kletzky Murder .
Quick summary: Nine year old boy begs parents for permission to walk home the few blocks from summer day camp alone. Parents allow it, but boy never arrives at home. Boy's dismembered body is found three days later partially in a dumpster, and partially in the freezer of the man arrested for the crime.
This crime is, quite obviously, a parent's worst nightmare, and has provoked a lot of discussion and soul searching amongst parents in my area.
So the question is, how do you teach your kids to interact with the people they meet in the world? I'm generally a fan of Free Range Parenting, and I hate the term "Stranger Danger," as many of my best experiences in life have been while travelling and interacting with strangers. But I want to keep my kids safe.
I know that crimes like this are extremely rare, but I also feel the need to do something to firm up my parenting philosophy. How do you raise well adjusted, sociable kids, while also ensuring that they have the skills necessary to avoid a dangerous situation if need be?
What do some of the parents out on ETS think?
Quick summary: Nine year old boy begs parents for permission to walk home the few blocks from summer day camp alone. Parents allow it, but boy never arrives at home. Boy's dismembered body is found three days later partially in a dumpster, and partially in the freezer of the man arrested for the crime.
This crime is, quite obviously, a parent's worst nightmare, and has provoked a lot of discussion and soul searching amongst parents in my area.
So the question is, how do you teach your kids to interact with the people they meet in the world? I'm generally a fan of Free Range Parenting, and I hate the term "Stranger Danger," as many of my best experiences in life have been while travelling and interacting with strangers. But I want to keep my kids safe.
I know that crimes like this are extremely rare, but I also feel the need to do something to firm up my parenting philosophy. How do you raise well adjusted, sociable kids, while also ensuring that they have the skills necessary to avoid a dangerous situation if need be?
What do some of the parents out on ETS think?