For Mama Bears

I am just catching up with the news about the Cleveland kidnapping victims, one of which disappeared at age 14 while on her way home from school. Gasp. Gulp. Vomit rising in my throat. Last fall, I wrote about my concerns about letting my kiddo play outside in the front yard in Get Your Paranoia Right Here! because the potential for disaster seems so obvious to me. Some people think that I have a morbid obsession with this type of story, but that is not true. As a "mama bear", I have a duty to protect my child, and I take it seriously. It's not that I glare at every stranger who passes by my house (just a few of them, and I only take pictures of the really suspicious looking ones. Just kidding. Kind of.)

Because this story prompted me to read all of the related reports, I have a link to share with you that you might have missed if you are not as paranoid as I am. I recommend Red Flags: How to Keep Our Kids Safe from Predators , which has great tips that all mean mommies and daddies need to know to keep their kids safe (even if you will seem uncool or unreasonable). These tips are geared toward tweens, which encompasses ages 8-12, but it's never too early to lay the ground rules. My kiddo will be entering tweendom in two years! Objectively, that seems like a long time, but time has a way of moving at warp speed. I remember 2011--two years ago--like it was yesterday.

At the end of the article, the author cautions readers that "...we live in times where we need to strike the balance between prevention and paranoia...We can all agree we are always better off being safe rather than sorry when it comes to our kids A double dose of caution never hurt anyone...". So, I'm pondering enrolling my kiddo  in self defense classes, getting a dog, and chipping her (my kid, not the dog. Or OK, maybe both. Just kidding. Kind of.)