I've been following this story on the daycare shooting in Germantown. I am horrified that this 8 year old child was able to smuggle a gun out of his house so easily and then apparently use it to "rob" this little girl. While yesterday it sounded like it was totally concealed in his backpack, today's story seems to indicate that the entire incident was intentional.
A couple other points in the story stood out to me, like the one child who seems "unfazed" by this event that he witnessed yesterday. How is it that we have created a generation of desensitized children?? We are horrified, they are "unfazed" by this? Maybe the event was surreal, but no fear of returning?? I just find this all very peculiar, disturbing, and really shocking.
It really is sad that in a seemingly short time, our lives have gone from fearless and carefree (sort of!) to violent and uncertain. I can remember as a child being outside from after school until dark all over our neighborhood. My mom would ring a bell outside the back door to let us know when dinner was ready and we'd all scatter. When I was a bit older, we'd ride our bikes everywhere for miles without any concern for safety other than whether or not a car would hit us. I don't remember my parents getting too crazed over dropping us off at the mall for an afternoon with our friends. We also went over other people's homes, most of the time without our parents having ever met. Times have really changed!
Now, I plan whole days around monitoring my kids playtime. It's only been in the last year that I've let them play out in front of my house without me watching. I'm nervous still when I know people are having their homes worked on, then my children never stand outside alone. I like be at the bus stop, which is right outside our door, and they have never been to the park without an adult. All this in our self-contained neighborhood. Even our heat pump guy laughs that I lock our front door! But times are different. I've gone over this with my mom many times. Few moms stay home, day care is the norm, our kids are growing up in different times, and carefree isn't in the description!
Having an 8 year old myself, I feel like I have a better perception of what this story really says. I vaguely remember 8 years old - it's one of the few times in my life that I have little memory of. I wasn't young enough for everything to be new, not old enough to be experiencing anything life-changing. I guess things are different now. My 8 year old is learning things that I never knew about until I was much older, and she's learning them all from her friends. Is it any wonder that so many people are homeschooling?? I don't wonder anymore.
Germantown is pretty far away, not terribly far, but far enough to feel safe from this kind of incident. Of course, if you read the whole article, you'll find at the end a reference to another similar incident in, you guessed it, Columbia, MD. So if you're thinking it can't happen where you live, think again!
UPDATE: Just this evening, I received an email from my neighbor. She sent me a link to a watchdog site where you can plug in your zip code and check to see how close any registered sex offenders live near you. I have done this before, but it appears we have a new one, and he's 0.1 mile away from my house. Guess I'll be joining my kids outside again - forever!
UPDATE: And, as usual, the story gets even more bizarre...
A couple other points in the story stood out to me, like the one child who seems "unfazed" by this event that he witnessed yesterday. How is it that we have created a generation of desensitized children?? We are horrified, they are "unfazed" by this? Maybe the event was surreal, but no fear of returning?? I just find this all very peculiar, disturbing, and really shocking.
It really is sad that in a seemingly short time, our lives have gone from fearless and carefree (sort of!) to violent and uncertain. I can remember as a child being outside from after school until dark all over our neighborhood. My mom would ring a bell outside the back door to let us know when dinner was ready and we'd all scatter. When I was a bit older, we'd ride our bikes everywhere for miles without any concern for safety other than whether or not a car would hit us. I don't remember my parents getting too crazed over dropping us off at the mall for an afternoon with our friends. We also went over other people's homes, most of the time without our parents having ever met. Times have really changed!
Now, I plan whole days around monitoring my kids playtime. It's only been in the last year that I've let them play out in front of my house without me watching. I'm nervous still when I know people are having their homes worked on, then my children never stand outside alone. I like be at the bus stop, which is right outside our door, and they have never been to the park without an adult. All this in our self-contained neighborhood. Even our heat pump guy laughs that I lock our front door! But times are different. I've gone over this with my mom many times. Few moms stay home, day care is the norm, our kids are growing up in different times, and carefree isn't in the description!
Having an 8 year old myself, I feel like I have a better perception of what this story really says. I vaguely remember 8 years old - it's one of the few times in my life that I have little memory of. I wasn't young enough for everything to be new, not old enough to be experiencing anything life-changing. I guess things are different now. My 8 year old is learning things that I never knew about until I was much older, and she's learning them all from her friends. Is it any wonder that so many people are homeschooling?? I don't wonder anymore.
Germantown is pretty far away, not terribly far, but far enough to feel safe from this kind of incident. Of course, if you read the whole article, you'll find at the end a reference to another similar incident in, you guessed it, Columbia, MD. So if you're thinking it can't happen where you live, think again!
UPDATE: Just this evening, I received an email from my neighbor. She sent me a link to a watchdog site where you can plug in your zip code and check to see how close any registered sex offenders live near you. I have done this before, but it appears we have a new one, and he's 0.1 mile away from my house. Guess I'll be joining my kids outside again - forever!
UPDATE: And, as usual, the story gets even more bizarre...
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