To hold a baby, helpless (except for JMan, who tried to stand up on day 2 of life) is a centering event. At the time that I held Bookzilla for the first time, I knew that who I was and what I wanted mattered not a whit to what ever I needed to do to deliver this baby whole to the world.
We know that we can’t protect them forever. We try to give them the tools to protect themselves that they may become whole people, capable of holding a baby and finding that centering moment for themselves. We want them to be strong for themselves, knowing that we will remove the guys and tethers to allow them to fly in the face of adversity or stand against the flood tide of opinion if needed.
There are many kinds of predation in this modern life. Commercialism, driven by an entire economy, tries to suck the marrow of self from our communities. I remarked recently to work mates that I had managed, in terms of these soul suckers, to limit the kids to just Pokemon and Transformers. But, I added, that was like saying that I had limited my addictions to just heroin and cocaine.
The most anxiety producing predation involves sex. There is so little we actually know about the development of the sexual self that trying to establish policy in this area seems like a zero sum game. We do know that sex is a powerful motivator.
That’s not to say that juvenile sexual offenses aren’t a serious problem. Juveniles account for about one-quarter of the sex offenses in the U.S. Though forcible rapes, the most serious of juvenile sex offenses, have declined since 1997, court cases for other juvenile sex offenses have risen. David Finkelhor, the director of Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, and others argue, however, that those statistics largely reflect increased reporting of juvenile sex offenses and adjudications of less serious offenses. “We are paying attention to inappropriate sexual behavior that juveniles have engaged in for generations,” he said.
The significant controversy isn’t whether there is a problem; it’s how to address it. In other words, when is parental or therapeutic intervention enough? What kind of therapy works best? And at what point should the judicial system get involved — and in what ways?
Verily, when should the judicial system get involved. This is a nuanced article, and troubling.