“Yeah, like when our kids are in junior high we follow them into their friends houses and hang around the whole time to make sure they aren’t playing games we don’t want them to. Uh huh.”
I know you are being sarcastic, but following them around is not what I’m talking about. Parents need to know the homes their kids are visiting. If they were invited to the movies, call the friend’s parents and ask what movie they are going to. If you know the parents buy “Grand Theft Auto” for their children, it might be best to have that kid come to your house. Most importantly, train children so they know to flee from evil. Talk to them what they’ve seen during their day and use the conversation as teachable moments. Of course we can’t insulate ourselves from this sewage in the world but we can be taught why it’s dangerous to sit and play in it.
I agree with what you say but I don’t think it’s do-able for a lot of parents. The community is not the same as when our parents were growing up. It’s hard to trust other kid’s parents even IF you get to know them a little. ANd it’s hard to really get to know anybody these days. When I was a pre-teen my mother talked to my girlfriend’s mothers about my coming over and told them they didn’t allow me to watch R-rated movies or ride in cars of anyone they didn’t know. Guess what we did at their house a lot of the times? Watch rated R teen flicks. Those parents did not care. At 12 years old my friend had a sleepover and on her porch there we were at midnight catching porn on the pay channel. My best friend’s parents cared so much about me that they forbid their daughter to play with me at one point because I was “boy crazy.” Never once thinking to call and tell my folks that there was a 24 year old guy 2 houses down from them that was enticing me to hang out with him and I did because one of my friends from the faster crowd hung out there too. As a parent you cannot trust anyone else to care about your kids and not let them be exposed to junk.