I often read the online newspapers to keep myself updated on everything that is going on the world and I was alarmed to read that one of the major fires that was a part of the firestorm in Southern California was set by a young boy playing with matches. It took place in Santa Clarita county where 38,000 acres were burned and destroyed over 21 homes. Plus it came pretty close to a very well known amusement park famous for their roller coasters. Being a parent myself of two young children ages 5 and 8 the first thing I wanted to know was where in the world were the parents of this young child? The local district attorneys office refused to reveal the age of the boy except to say that he is quite young. So it is safe to assume that he is under the age of 12.

Were the parents too busy dealing mudane things around the house to even pay attention to their child who was obviously bored and idle? Or was he home alone? In this day in age of school shootings and young girls coming up missing because they met some sexual predator online it really has me wondering about the parents. In the case of this young boy who caused millions of dollars in damage I feel that no blame should fall on his shoulders. This is something that will haunt him for the rest of his life. I hope that the D.A.'s office charges the parents with this because a question of their parenting skills needs  to be addressed. Many of today's parents allow for their kids to have a large length of freedom that many of us did not enjoy as kids. Its not shocking to see 8 year olds with cell phones attached to their ears. Or looking at a 10 year old dressed like a grown woman because mommy finds it cute to dress them up in items that they enjoy wearing (walk into your local Target store and you will see what I'm talking about). And to see 12 year olds post on MySpace has been going on for awhile. Where is the control at? Where do parents draw the line? We as parents have to take control in our households. If our kids are having problems in school with a bully we must address it and do the battles for our kids and not let them deal with in such a destructive matter. We must protect our kids and know when to say no so we don't have to deal with another school shooting or some poor kid who has yet to learn fully about life that its not ok to play with matches.