Great points. Nothing untoward ever happened to me at sleepovers or while babysitting, for which I'm grateful. It's heartbreaking to know that's not always the case. I wonder if part of it was how well known my parents and I were to the families (whether friends or for babysitting) for either scenario. Not that knowing someone beforehand…
Great points. Nothing untoward ever happened to me at sleepovers or while babysitting, for which I'm grateful. It's heartbreaking to know that's not always the case. I wonder if part of it was how well known my parents and I were to the families (whether friends or for babysitting) for either scenario. Not that knowing someone beforehand means nothing will happen! But I can't recall any scenarios where we didn't all know each other well ahead of unsupervised time in someone's home. It feels rarer to encounter tight-knit neighborhoods these days.
Yes, we’ve lived in our neighborhood for 12 years and most of the houses have turned over multiple times and when families move in they aren’t moving from another neighborhood in town where we have mutual friends—they are moving from other cities and countries so there’s no way to do what I call a “community check” or “relational reference” on them.
Great points. Nothing untoward ever happened to me at sleepovers or while babysitting, for which I'm grateful. It's heartbreaking to know that's not always the case. I wonder if part of it was how well known my parents and I were to the families (whether friends or for babysitting) for either scenario. Not that knowing someone beforehand means nothing will happen! But I can't recall any scenarios where we didn't all know each other well ahead of unsupervised time in someone's home. It feels rarer to encounter tight-knit neighborhoods these days.
Yes, we’ve lived in our neighborhood for 12 years and most of the houses have turned over multiple times and when families move in they aren’t moving from another neighborhood in town where we have mutual friends—they are moving from other cities and countries so there’s no way to do what I call a “community check” or “relational reference” on them.