It seems as if violence among school-aged children is increasing at an alarming rate. Most recently, the media reported on the gang rape of a 15-year-old girl at a high school dance in California. Not too long before that report, there was the beating death of Derrion Albert, a 16-year-old honor student, in Chicago. (The fact that the atrocity was captured on video and appeared on You Tube is the subject of another blog on another day.)

Even in a city the size of Columbia, we hear stories of school violence and shootings. According to the Centers for Disease Control, youth violence is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10 and 24. I’m afraid to delve much deeper into these statistics.

Then there’s the other side of the coin. We can’t raise our kids in a bubble – although I have joked with friends we should pool our money and buy an island. If we don’t give our children some independence, they’ll never be able to function as adults. Fear shouldn’t rule their lives.

So how do we keep our kids safe? How much protection is too much and when do we draw the line?

Our soon-to-be 13-year-old went trick-or-treating on Halloween night. As always, Dad accompanied her and a friend, albeit 20 steps behind them. There were groups of other 6^th and 7^th graders milling about. Some of them had parental supervision and some did not. Were my husband and I being overprotective by insisting the girls have a grown-up with them or were the unaccompanied children put in a risky situation?

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Categories: *Parents Are People Too by Denise Dunn, All Articles, Hot Topics, Parents Panel
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