Notes

Wonder Woman, the Cyberspace Chaperone
As an individual mother of two teenage girls, you can only imagine some to the worries I could muster on any given trip to any random moment. Being truly a communications major, makes my job just a little easier. I stand firm in the fact that parents have to open the lines of communication with their children.

My daughters understand my stance on teenage sex and pregnancy, since I myself was something of these and shared my experiences with them. My girls both know the ages I was when I had them both and how difficult being a teenage mom was, and is still. Now, as luck could have it, not only are both my darlings honors students, but I strongly encourage them to talk with me about everything. Pent up feelings and stereotypical taboos of my generation's past, are to me, the leading cause of miscommunication between parents and children. Nothing should be off limits in a parent-child relationship. When we shut out our children, we force them to turn elsewhere, festering insecurities, leading to drug use, gang affiliations, early pregnancies, STDs, and in worst cases, child trafficking.

With the internet ranking number one as the "must-do" activity of the generation, meaning our preteens and teens alike, it is our duties as parents to monitor their online interactions and relationships. This takes away from precious family face-to -face time. Keeping conversations and interactions accessible is a great start. check here consider this being a "cyberspace chaperone". If you wouldn't let your children have company over in your house when you aren't home, then why would you allow them to roam the net alone?

In this cyber age, nothing is sacred anymore, not even harmless, fun family photos. We as parents have to encourage our children the importance of privacy and restrict their friends/buddies to "who you know" only.

With all of the creepy crawlers lurking in the shadows of cyberspace, you have to be extra cautious who our little ones consider friends!

After reading an article essentially magazine called "Black Girls for Sale", by Jeannine Amber, my guards are on constant patrol. WHEN I go through the pages, tears filled my eyes, limiting my view until the initial blink which released the cluster of hot fluid, careening down my cheek onto the pages; blurring the words I was reading. The feature gave graphic accounts of how our precious babies are forcefully taken and then gang raped for days, instilling fear into them. Our daughters are beaten and then tossed out to work the streets by their pimps - who make up to $500,000 annually if he's got 3 girls with a daily quota of $500 each.

Let's remember the hand that sites like Craigslist's Personal Service section have in this atrocity. These predators can enter our daughter's bedrooms through the open window of the internet. And these young victims are as tender as 11 years old.

I guess the true blow of the truth is that this doesn't just happen in under-developed countries. It is as close as our nearby neighbors - and even closer; to close for comfort if you ask me!

Whatever happened to the good ole days when worrying about girls getting their periods was normal? Growing up, Financial Freedom was forbidden to state the word "sex" as well as discuss it for that matter, in my predominantly Catholic household. Actually, I had to marry my daughter's father to avoid family disgrace and shame. But I believe my experiences enable me to equip and educate my girls into not following in my footsteps. I empower them to create a better path. This is the serious issue and my daughters each know how much I value honest communications. We have girl's nights where we share stories and pay attention to one another without judgment or punishment. Shouting is frowned upon when feelings are shared.

I am watching my daughters blossom into positive female members of this American society - without much input or influence from their father, but in general, I have to proudly proclaim, I am doing a damn good job.
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