greeneagle, you hit the nail on the head.
When my son was growing up, I think he was maybe 9 or so, he once did, while I was working nearby, stumble upon something he maybe wasn't ready to see. I heard his gasp, and saw what was up (pun intended!) and we ended up talking about it. He was a lot more embarassed than I was, but the end result, from that and other talks, is he is a well-adjusted young man who respects women and is in a stable healthy relationship with a gal we're both crazy about. He's now 24, has only had three serious girlfriends, and is still very good friends with his first two.
When I compare that to how my parents dealt with me . . .
Parents do need to deal with their kids honestly and forthrightly, and teach them. You can't let your kids embarassment or discomfort stop you. You can't let YOUR embarassment or discomfort stop you. You, as a parent, can't let teachers, or the internet, or the TV, or the guvmint do it for you.
Do there need to be laws in place re child predation? Yes. But there's also a slippery slope with the writing of laws for the internet, since other agencies in the government will USE our fear of child predators to gain ground in getting ALL of us to give up our privacy. This is a very complex area of the law, one most of us can't understand and can't see the dangers in for all of us.
Parents are the first and best protection, the "firewall" that keep children safe, provided that parents TAKE responsibility, and don't pass the buck.
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