Shannon Coffield doesn't want me to send my children to sleep away camp ever, she is freaking me out. Not really, Coffield works with United Way of Central Iowa and wants to warn parents that the people we trust with our children, like music teachers or camp counselors, can still be predators. Coffield points out the sickening statistics: one in four girls and one in six boys are sexually abused by the age of 18. These children are most often abused by people they know and trust.
This article is geared to a local audience directing readers to seminars in protecting children offered by a local women's center geared at helping camp staff and church groups which work with children. But the article made me think, as I often do, about how we can truly keep our kids safe without keeping them locked inside missing out on valuable experiences. I love Gavin de Becker's book for this purpose and highly recommend all parents check it out because the truth is, if we want our kids to live full lives they're going to be exposed to the risk of abuse. The best we can do is make sure we teach them all we can about protecting themselves, talking to us and being certain we will protect them no matter what someone else tells them.
Maybe someday I'll be ready to leave my kids with virtual strangers for a whole week at camp. I mean, not if I keep reading articles like this but otherwise.
