AztecLady has a book review on her page Maybe She Will where there's mention of the main character, a Mother, having to go to school to advocate for her child. And Az mentioned having to advocate for her child. And it reminded me of this story:
When Mollie was in middle school in Seattle, there was a substitute teacher Mr. Green whom Mollie really liked. She would mention him occasionally and say they joked about being relatives because they had the same last name. Then one day Mollie told me that Mr. Green gave her some candy and asked her not to tell anyone because he didn't want to get in trouble for playing favorites.
I was at school the very next day. I met with the principal and explained that a teacher having a "secret" with a student is the first step in grooming. The principal did the 'oh not Mr. Green, he's a great guy, he would never...'. Anyway, I told the principal to let Mr. Green know about our conversation and to stay away from my daughter.
And I did tell Mollie. I explained how grooming works. I told her that Mr. Green might be a great guy and never harm a fly but I would never take a chance. Not with my daughter. And she understood.
Being a Mom is hell. We know what the world does to people and we need to help our kids through. Nobody has a perfect life but if we're lucky, our kids can have a safe life.
And once again, if my daughter was in the woods and there was a bear or a man: I'd rather she deal with the bear.
::tight, fellow mom hug::
ReplyDelete(all the stories about predators that start with, "oh but he was such a great guy, I never would have thought that he would...")