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Originally Posted by Baby Lee
Yeah, 'what if my grown daughter's friends are pedophiles' should be foremost in the minds of all grandparents.
Young folk these days, runnin' around befriending pedophiles. It's all the rage.
I'm with tomataboid, this story is pretty darned skewed.
Anecdotes of drinking, drug use, and anonymous sex are not evidence of such. They are what they are, anecdotes.
And just because the men are strangers to the grandparents, doesn't mean they are strangers to the daughter, or the kids, or that they are by definition sketchy.
And for background, I've seen both sides of it. My own family was your Ozzy/Harriet, first and only marriage for each, stay at home mom, no drinking, no smoking, no neglect.
My mom's brother, who I'd spend most of my time with when we'd visit the family in Louisiana, was shacking up with a lady friend, and had all sorts of friends over at all times. It was more libertine, but it was also the 'white trash' iteration of southern hospitality. So long as you were a friend in need, and there was a bed or couch or recliner free, you had a place to crash.
Granted, I didn't live there for years on end, just a week or so every few months, but I never felt in danger because I trusted my uncle's estimation of people.
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Sorry Baby Lee, but this is one time we differ in opinion.
My life was different than yours....and I wished there had been the Ozzie & Harriet life. And I disagree that it is just an anecdote....
And maybe I am different, but anyone I would leave my children with are people that I make my relatives familiar with, even if I am a thousand miles from my closest family.
And while my example of the guys being "pedophiles" may be a bit too extreme, all you have to do is look at headlines every week to see someone who was babysitting kids abusing them. So let's change that to a guy who's a drunk...maybe he drinks so much he isn't paying attention to the kids and they injure themselves and he is passed out somewhere....
There is just as much a chance these guys are irresponsible....when it comes to kids I always err on the side of being overly cautious.
I guess I would rather apologize to my daughter and her friends for being over-protective than have to apologize to my granddaughters for not doing something to protect them if they were in danger.
mmaddog
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