Where Are Dora's Parents?!

I take my 8 year old son to the playground a lot and even though I might glance away for a second or two, when I look back up and don't see him, my adrenaline kicks in panic mode even if just for a second. With the way children disappear anymore, most parents do, right?

Then the humorous side of me thinks about Dora, The Explorer. Where are her parents when she's on all of these explorations? She just takes off and has all of these adventures, but her parents are never hovering over her and she always ends up learning something and most of all, is safe. She uses maps and asks help for other children watching and she teaches Spanish! She doesn't hold grudges and always makes compromises. Her baseball team was coached by her father, so he was present during that time.

However, going to a local playground where other parents bring their children to play proves to be a battle at times. You have parents who bring them there and I think drop them off while they go on their explorations. They leave it to chance that they will handle any social situations that pop up like a well rounded adult. This belief often leads to disagreements on the playground that require involving a parent that stayed to watch their child and settling it and potentially making the other parent mad upon their return. Then there are the children that actually get hurt on the playground and are left to be scooped up by total strangers and coddled, dusted off and set back up to finish playing. I don't understand this. My son climbs to the top of the monkey bars and stands up and taunts me with chant's, "Look at me mom" while letting go and balancing himself on the small 2 inch metal rod while standing 6+ feet in the air..........I can't leave those moments to chance and not be there should something happen to him. Then there are the kids that take off to the bathrooms alone that are his age or younger. The Lord only knows what lurks in those bathrooms waiting on the children that go in alone.

I am sorry, but the playground and public bathrooms cannot be left to chance with young children. In fact, when you have teenagers disappearing from Target stores or being molested in departments within the stores...its not safe to leave them at all. They are protected and shielded from life events, I am guilty myself from not having these "talks" with them. It is probably a good idea to have these talks about potentially dangerous moments and how they should be handled. I would rather them have some experience with "potential" moments than to be totally unprepared and caught off guard by these situations.

So, Dora's parents......where are you??!