Daughters' Father

I’m starting this blog just to keep myself up to date on what its like to raise MY daughters (specifically my 10, almost 11, year old who thinks and feels that she is 22 or so). I have a total of four daughters ranging in age from nearly 11 to 4. However, at the present time, only one is advanced enough to make keeping up with her a challenge. Once the others grow up, I’m sure they’ll get their share of the spotlight as well.

I’d have to say this all really started while I was away in Iraq. During that time, she grew up way too fast. She developed hormonally and physically and changed from my cute little girl who played soccer and t-ball and loved school into an adolescent girl who chases boys, surfs the internet from dawn to dusk (and beyond), and loves chat rooms – the mostly kiddie oriented ones like Disney VMK and Zwinky (which isn’t all that kid oriented, but does have stupid little characters that you dress up).
I’ve read all the stuff about watching your kids online and all that and I do. But, I also know from personal experience that kids always have ways of doing stuff when the adults aren’t watching. My 10 year old (lets call her… Ember) is no different. I intentionally give her some freedom online to do what she wants and go where she wants. However, I also have ways of keeping very good tabs on everything she does and what she is exposed to. I know that there are things she is seeing that are what I would consider well beyond what she should be seeing, but I am also seeing how she reacts to it and how she does or does not participate in it. The world is not a sheltered place where kids only see the good and fluffy side of the world. At schools, even the best schools, there are kids who are past their age in experience.

This blog is about how my I am monitoring my daughter and her activities in the internet world and real life. I would put this up on my MySpace, but I have no doubt that Ember will have her own MySpace soon enough and I don’t want her knowing how well I’m watching. She’s a smart girl and I have no doubt she could find ways around what I have watching her.

So, if you found your way here you are either someone related to the issue at hand, have been invited to view this window into my parenting skills (or lack thereof), or have stumbled randomly upon this for some unknown reason and have read through all the stuff above without getting bored and going away. Regardless of who you are – welcome. And if you know who the daughter in question is – DON’T TELL HER ANYTHING!

Thanks.