"Cathy Weeks" wrote in message
oups.com...

Nina Pretty Ballerina wrote:

But if i let my 6 yo go into the men's toilet by himself at our local
shopping centre, the risk of something is FAR lower than ds3 in the
garden,
but the magnitude...*shudder*

There's always a risk to be weighed... on one hand, his chances of
being molested are very, very low. Serious implications, yes, but the
event is not very likely. On the other hand, turning him into a
fearful, distrustful child, who then turns into an adult who has
trouble connecting with people is probably much higher.

I'm not saying you are handling it wrong, or that you *will* turn him
into a fearful adult.

I'm not sure when I started letting my almost-12-year old go through
the locker rooms alone - it was problably about age 5 or 6 - because
that's when my local YMCA required that boys not be in the women's
locker room.

Cathy Weeks

I disagree .. the way I see it is that Chris is teaching her son to be aware
of his surroundings (ie "stranger danger").

I seriously doubt that Chris not letting her 6 yo son go to the men's dunny
by himself will turn him into a "fearful, distrustful child, who then turns
into an adult who has trouble connecting with people". ...but I reckon
even a comparatively mild encounter with a sleazebag in a public toilet
would accomplish that *really* well.

I guess to comes down to what individual parents feel comfortable with for
their kids.

My 2c

Amanda