Wonder Woman the Cyberspace Chaperone

As a single mother of two teenage girls, it is possible to only imagine some to the worries I can muster on any given trip to any random moment. Being a communications major, helps make my job a little easier. I stand firm in the fact that parents have to open the lines of communication with their children.

My daughters understand my stance on teenage sex and pregnancy, since I myself was a product of these and shared my experiences with them. My girls both know the ages I was when I had them both and how difficult being a teenage mom was, and continues to be. Now, as luck would have it, not only are both my darlings honors students, but I strongly cause them to become speak to me about anything and everything. Stored feelings and stereotypical taboos of my generation's past, are to me, the leading cause of miscommunication between parents and children. Nothing ought to be off limits in a parent-child relationship. When we shut out our children, we force them to show elsewhere, festering insecurities, leading to drug use, gang affiliations, early pregnancies, STDs, and in worst cases, child trafficking.

With the web ranking number one as the "must-do" activity of this generation, meaning our preteens and teens alike, it really is our duties as parents to monitor their online interactions and relationships. This also takes away from precious family face-to -face time. Keeping conversations and interactions accessible is an excellent start. I think about this being a "cyberspace chaperone". In the event that you wouldn't let your kids have company over in your own home when you aren't home, then why would you allow them to roam the web alone?

In this cyber age, nothing is sacred anymore, not even harmless, fun family photos. We as parents need to encourage our children the significance of privacy and restrict their friends/buddies to "who you understand" only.

Challenging creepy crawlers lurking in the shadows of cyberspace, one has to be extra cautious who our children consider friends!

After reading articles essentially magazine called "Black Girls on the market", by Jeannine Amber, my guards are on constant patrol. As I read through the pages, tears filled my eyes, limiting my view until the initial blink which released the cluster of hot fluid, careening down my cheek onto the pages; blurring what I was reading. The feature gave graphic accounts of how our precious babies are forcefully taken and gang raped for days, instilling fear into them. Our daughters are beaten and then tossed out to work the streets by their pimps - who constitute to $500,000 annually if he's got 3 girls with a daily quota of $500 each.

Let's remember the hand that sites like Craigslist's Personal Service section have in this atrocity. These predators can enter our daughter's bedrooms through the open window of the World Wide Web. And these young victims are as tender as 11 years old.

I guess the true blow of reality is that this doesn't just happen in under-developed countries. It really is as close as our nearby neighbors - and even closer; to close for comfort if you ask me!

Whatever happened to the nice ole days when worrying about girls getting their periods was normal? Growing up, I was forbidden to say the word "sex" and even discuss it for that matter, in my predominantly Catholic household. Actually, I had to marry my daughter's father to avoid family disgrace and shame. But I really believe my experiences enable me to equip and educate my girls into not following in my own footsteps. I empower them to make a better path. It is a serious issue and my daughters each understand how much I value honest communications. We have girl's nights where we share stories and pay attention to one another without judgment or punishment. Shouting is frowned upon when feelings are shared.

I am watching my daughters blossom into positive female members of the American society - without much input or influence from their father, but overall, I have to proudly proclaim, I am doing a damn good job.