Wisdom from unlikely places

In a discussion at Fark.com about a 19 year old babysitter that allegedly had a sexual relationship with a 14 year old boy she was watching (and maybe more), poster Julie Cochrane offered this great advice about how to teach your kids to avoid the draw of dating inappropriately older folks.

The way I explained "older guys" to my daughter, when I talked to her about older guys who come around as boyfriends of high school girls, and they've got cars and money to buy the girls stuff, and they're in college or out working a job:

I told her to think of the boys who were the bottom of the barrel losers in her grade. Think of the 5 skeeziest, creepiest boys. The ones that make the hair on her neck stand up. Yeah them, I told her. Those are the guys who are going to end up cruising the high schools looking to date high school girls.

"When you date the older guys who cruise the high schools, you're dating another grade's rejects. What's wrong with them that none of the girls their own age will date them?"

She shuddered.

She got the point.