rdsmith3
Member
Hi, I am new here. I am a new gun owner, well, almost-owner. I live in NJ, and it takes time. I am interested in gun ownership for home defense against black bears and bad guys, and maybe some target shooting.
While I think it is important that we all be proactive in protecting our families, and avoid the "victim" culture that is so prevalent in our society today, I also think it is important to have a dialogue about the real threats to our children. I am a parent/step-parent to five kids, ranging in age from 5 to 22, so I am speaking from experience. Our guns cannot prevent what I believe are the most pressing threats to our kids.
First, as recent events in the news have reminded us, the threat of sexual abuse is most likely to come from relatives, friends, and acquaintances. The data is widely available. In other words, we have to be very careful of whom we trust to watch our kids alone. Uncle Charlie or the friendly neighbor is more likely to be a threat than a home invasion. I read that only 4% of the time is a stranger the perpetrator in sexual abuse of children.
Second, if you have teens, the main threats come from their friends. We have to really watch who their friends are, and get to know them. We have to spend time in relationships with our kids and their friends. In the teens, kids will listen more to their friends than to parents, and are very susceptible to experimenting with alcohol and drugs, or just do stupid things.
Third, and related to the above, social media is very important in our kids lives, and it is a threat to them and the family. Kids are on facebook all the time, revealing confidential information such as, "I am so excited we are going on vacation next week," or "My parents are away all weekend, let's party!" My wife requires that our children "friend" her on facebook and she regularly checks what is going on. She will advise the kids to un-friend people who seem undesirable, such as the high school kid who brags about his sexual conquests. She also does surprise text message checks. We discovered, for example, that one of our sons was planning to have a secret liaison with a young lady when we were at work in the summer. Busted!
Thanks for listening to my ramblings.
While I think it is important that we all be proactive in protecting our families, and avoid the "victim" culture that is so prevalent in our society today, I also think it is important to have a dialogue about the real threats to our children. I am a parent/step-parent to five kids, ranging in age from 5 to 22, so I am speaking from experience. Our guns cannot prevent what I believe are the most pressing threats to our kids.
First, as recent events in the news have reminded us, the threat of sexual abuse is most likely to come from relatives, friends, and acquaintances. The data is widely available. In other words, we have to be very careful of whom we trust to watch our kids alone. Uncle Charlie or the friendly neighbor is more likely to be a threat than a home invasion. I read that only 4% of the time is a stranger the perpetrator in sexual abuse of children.
Second, if you have teens, the main threats come from their friends. We have to really watch who their friends are, and get to know them. We have to spend time in relationships with our kids and their friends. In the teens, kids will listen more to their friends than to parents, and are very susceptible to experimenting with alcohol and drugs, or just do stupid things.
Third, and related to the above, social media is very important in our kids lives, and it is a threat to them and the family. Kids are on facebook all the time, revealing confidential information such as, "I am so excited we are going on vacation next week," or "My parents are away all weekend, let's party!" My wife requires that our children "friend" her on facebook and she regularly checks what is going on. She will advise the kids to un-friend people who seem undesirable, such as the high school kid who brags about his sexual conquests. She also does surprise text message checks. We discovered, for example, that one of our sons was planning to have a secret liaison with a young lady when we were at work in the summer. Busted!
Thanks for listening to my ramblings.