Friday, Jan. 18, 2008

Better to have it and not need it ...

Lyn Pry

Some things need to be said repeatedly – especially to children.

I have two phrases that make my daughters shudder, roll their eyes and either join in – creating a chorus effect –-- or say, “I know, I know!”

One of the sayings is: “That’s life in the Big 10,” which is upper-Midwestern meaning “get over it” about whatever they’re complaint is at that time. In Texas it’d be the “Big 12,” I guess.

The other saying is: “Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.” This usually involves taking a sweater, sweatshirt or coat along to avoid potential illness ramifications.

I’m thrilled that my children at ages 24 and 20 now say these “nags” to themselves when I’m not around – they guilt-trip themselves. I’ve done my job as a parent well.

Another saying I drilled into both my daughters, as well as the Girl Scout troop I led, was: “Don’t talk to strangers.”

Not only did we talk about “stranger danger,” but we rehearsed how to react if someone we didn’t know tried to ask for directions (from an 8 year-old – really?), or to look for a lost pet, or anything else that an adult would normally ask for help about from another adult.

It’s unfair that children today don’t have the freedom to play “Kick-the-Can” or “Hide-and-Seek” at night the way I did when I was growing up. But in today’s society ... “that’s life in the Big 10.”

Please read the article about “Stranger Danger” and cut out the Flower Mound Police Department’s list of recommendations for parent and care givers to discuss with their children.

It’s a wonderful thing that our local communities have never had a “stranger abduction” incident; let’s do our part to keep it that way.