Youth Protection

As a scout leader one of the many trainings we must complete is Youth Protection.  This training is as much for the protection of the adult as it is for the youth. 

Now you wonder why we even have to bother with such training, right?  Sadly, a few rotten apples make life a mess for all the other adults with good intentions.   And sadly a few of those rotten apples have been from my church.  It's not to say that all the adult volunteers are to be suspected of anything just because they want to help in an organization like the Boys Scouts.


With the recent revelations at Penn State I'll bet a million people will reconsider sending their kid off to some summer or spring break sports camp just because they are afraid something might happen.

Clearly the system failed in the case of Penn State.  Multiple people including a janitor told higher ups of some misdeeds.  However, I'd tell not just the president of the school or the director of athletics if I saw a man doing the inappropriate sexual acts with a boy in the locker room.  That already raises to the level of - TELL the POLICE and TELL them NOW!

I'm not sure things have changed all that much in the last 30 years.  I mean are there more child molesters in the world today then back then?  For that matter are there more today then in the 1800's.  It appears that in 1800's England there was an epidemic of child prostitution.  So is it really worse?  Are we more keenly aware of what is going on around us?

Back in my day we had Den Meeting at the home of one of my best friends.  His mother usually ran the meeting.  There were rarely extra adults present.  Contrast that to our meeting two nights ago.  We had three adults present for 4 boys and at least one parent was within a stones throw distance in the building due to travel issues.

It makes it fairly hard for someone to start accusing misdeeds when you have an adult to youth ratio at that level.    Sadly, things have gotten to that level.  Nary a person dare be alone with a child out of fear of rumors, accusations and the like.  Even some of the leadership in our local units have a second adult outside their office when interviewing people.  Just in case something gets out of hand or it a man interviewing a female.
We have to actively be a part of the life of our youth; of our children.
It appears the guy out of Penn state chose justly the people lacking a full set of parental support as his victims.  He knew that it would be harder to be caught since fewer people were on the look out.
But, one boy's mother was watching, participating and she did not take it sitting down.  Sadly, the system failed her.

How can we live in the world but, not of the world?  How is it that we can really protect our youth from all the issues they face today?
How can we protect them from inappropriate media, friends, activities, drugs and all the other bad influences that exist?

I like what I read in the October 2011 General Conference talk by Elaine S Dalton General Young Women's President of the LDS Church.
"You are your daughter’s guardian in more than the legal sense. Be present in your daughter’s life. Let her know your standards, your expectations, your hopes and dreams for her success and happiness. Interview her, get to know her friends and, when the time comes, her boyfriends. Help her understand the importance of education. Help her understand that the principle of modesty is a protection. Help her choose music and media that invite the Spirit and are consistent with her divine identity. Be an active part of her life. And if in her teenage years she should not come home from a date on time, go get her. She will resist and tell you that you have ruined her social life, but she will inwardly know that you love her and that you care enough to be her guardian."
Read - Elaine S Dalton Oct 2011 Conference Talk

Imagine that - a father actually going down and finding his child that is late from a date and dragging her home.  Most if not many would think you a prude.   But, in reality you are showing the kind of attitude or respect you are expecting from the child and their date.
My wife got a bit of that when we were traveling around in Brazil before we were even engaged.  Most if not all the people she worked with thought it prudish to have a separate hotel room while both of us were in another city visiting.  No one would really have known.
But, it is the principle.  Honest/Integrity - Doing the right thing even when no one is watching.

So we take the training, hold to the standards, not because they are fun, enjoyable or plain neat.  They in reality can be a bit of a pain.  We hold to the standards because we know they the right thing to do and will in the long run protect our youth.

Buaidh - NO - Bas