Nice looking fam grellis.
Being a parent is a tough job in more ways than one.
My boy is almost 12. Just at that age where he is pretty sure he's invincible and that his dad and mom are indeed Zeus and Hera. So for now he pretty much listens to what we say and takes it as gospel.
In a couple of years Mrs. L and I will have all the 'cool' of a rack of yard tools at Sears. So we've got a limited window in which to instill the proper attitude before he becomes convinced he already knows everything.
So some days it's "we've got to hurry up and teach him this stuff" and others it's "we don't want him to grow up too fast."
Drawing that line is the hardest thing I've ever done.
L
Sadly, we've been having to teach our kids about the monsters out there for a while. We live on a nice, quiet downtown block--except for the houses on either side of us. Both duplexes, two different slumlords. We have had crack dealers, crack users, heroin dealers, heroin addicts and prostitutes as neighbors. I have come to know the police here very well and when a problem moves in it is dealt with,
fast. But our kids have had to be told, many times: Don't speak to
anyone that's not family unless we're with you. The only time they are ever outside alone is if they're in the backyard (fenced) with the dog, and me listening from the kitchen. Our house is on the market now, and we've bid on a house in a village with virtually no crime. It'll be a long time before I feel comfortable letting them out of my sight, though.
Drawing the line is the hardest thing, no doubt. I wish I could just let them be kids and enjoy their childhood, but that's not the world we live in.