A registered sex offender lives on my street.
What reaction would you have? Mine wasn’t too positive, I must admit.
Fortunately, The Husband and I had just started reading a book about child safety when we learned of our new neighbor from a national registry for sex offenders.
Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane) by Gavin de Becker was mentioned on a local discussion board. I had checked it out was reading it when I asked The Husband to read it with me. It has led to some good conversations about keeping our kids safe.
I have to say though, it’s a painful read. I don’t want to imagine my babies being hurt. I want to protect them from harm. It’d be easier to just deny that anything could happen to them! And unfortunately, that how many parents deal with this think about this issue: denial. Gavin de Becker says in the book:
My impatience with denial is fueled by a career of asking people whose children were victimized if they could have seen it coming. Most of them say No, but then add a fact here, another there, until they must acknowledge, “Now that I think of it, I guess there were several signs.”
Although it’s difficult, I’d rather think about these signs now.
The author’s practical questions are thought-provoking and insightful. The Husband and I feel better prepared to deal with situations that we may encounter (God forbid) and how we can avoid them. The dustcover of the book promises:
I commit by the end of this book, you’ll know more and be uncertain less; see more and deny less, accept more and hesitate less; act more and worry less. How can I be so sure? Because if nature selected you for the job of protecting a child, odds are you’re up to it.
We are almost finished reading this book, and I recommend it to every parent. Be aware and educate yourself for your children’s sake. It is worth the discomfort you’ll feel while reading it.
