Other wild things

As we are fast approaching the end of 2007, I had to write this one last piece this year since I have been neglecting writing these blogs for a while now.

Some of you may have read the children's book " Where the Wild Things Are" written by Maurice Sendak. And what I have to say is that there are many wild things out there and that are not monsters by looks, actually they look good and very tempting, yet a monster in nature and 4teen should be very very scared of them. As parents, we see these dangers on a daily basis in our own lives and we need to get involved and educate our children about them. These wild things were not yet a concern until not too long ago and they are the by product of our truly amazing technology, a menace if you ask me.

Besides sex, drugs and alcohol, after surviving the world of the internet chatrooms, with the predators and pedophile, gunfires in schools, universities and malls, and the tigers that roam the street to eat and maul their victim, be aware of the danger of credit cards. Take heed of these look gorgeous plastic cards that encourage us to buy now and pay later and even pay the minimum payment as little as $5 a month.

Please educate your 4teens that minimum payments have consequences of interest and late fee payments. Credit cards are another type of predators that feed on weak and shallow personalities, and the more they push them into debt, the happier they are. If we teach our kids about the dangers that strangers impose, we should definitely inform them the dangers of ruined financial credits and the impact of it on their lives. A friend of mine fell into this trap with her college aged daughter and ended up paying off a credit card balance of $325.00 for a shirt that cost only $40.00.

It is a crazy world out there. We have more severe natural disasters, and we have even worse man made disasters. We want our 4teens to face the world as good citizens and not to be afraid to live their lives, therefore, we need to give them the right tools to do that. Education is the key, they need to be careful in every aspect of their lives. Once the " Be Careful" list for growing children was a lot shorter, but as we dive into 21st century, the list multiplies and I honestly don't know how long it will get.

I wish a worry free 2008 for all the 4Ts, and a safe world for all the 4teens who read this blog. May we be safe from all the wild things that are there. Amen