This one is really tough. The reality is safety is an illusion. We can't forever protect our young people (& neither can any government or political system). The best we can do as parents is educate. Have deep, meaningful conversations with our kids. My 15 yo already has more control with her devices than anyone else in the house. She was the most addictive a few years ago. She's very aware and very educated & interested to self educate. My boy's are 17 and 8. They enjoy gaming. I had a conversation with my 8 yo asking if he knew that some kids might ask him to steal from others and make lots of money. He was already aware and said he blocks anyone that says anything like that to him. Communication is key. Also keep in mind, kids are extremely resilient. Probably more so than we give them credit for. Often as parents we wrap them in cotton wool trying to protect them. Then we feel guilty for not doing enough to protect them. The reality is, they can have any up bringing. We do the best we can. And as adults, they will have the choice - to be bitter about their childhood or to be forgiving and compassionate towards us for anything we didn't do perfectly ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’› As long as we are doing the best we can with what we know, that should be enough, and is already far more than previous generations could since we can access far more information (maybe it's not always for the best though) ๐Ÿ˜ฌ As adults, we get to choose our path forward. Just as our children will someday too. The best we can do is create a childhood we hope that they will remember as good. ๐Ÿ˜Š For our family that is travelling the world and living outside most systems as best we can. I talk to my children about all the things they wouldn't learn at school and not much of what they would ๐Ÿคฃ I think intuitively, we know what is best for our own. It looks different for each child & family. I'm sure you are doing an amazing job ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿ’›

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I've raised my little mini me to young adulthood now, she's about to turn 22 in a couple of months and I'll second what you say about the importance of communication. We definitely can't keep them safe from all harm, so the compassionate thing to do is arm them with the tools and knowledge the need to navigate the world, online and off, then trust them enough to explore safely. As a father I found it really tough having to explain the nature of the world to my beautiful innocent little girl, but she grew up taking heed, thank God.
Thanks Melisa and Susie for showing us that as parents we need to be accountable and seek the truth rather than become fooled into thinking that the centralised institutions created by government will keep us and our children safe. I've come to the realisation I don't want my kids growing up in Australia only to live in a glass prison where violations for civil liberty are taken so lightly. So it is time to execute on that #PlanB.
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