Quote:
Originally Posted by Flyndaran
Who on earth would set privacy settings for their kid to cover up when they harm themselves? Would it also hide evidence of cutting, or running head first into walls?
The masturbation aspect is more interesting as it obviously causes no overt harm, but conservative religious people may consider it sinful and worthy of punishment.
|
"Harm" vs. "nonharm" is not a binary variable. There are degrees of harm, and degrees of probability of harm. And there are also values on the other side: Conveying to your kids that you trust them rather than constantly monitoring them; letting them develop a measure of autonomy rather than having every action performed under adult supervision; letting them choose to take some risks or inflict some harms on themselves, even. Those values have to be traded off against harm and risk, but it is a tradeoff; you can't avoid all harm and all risk without a level of behavioral control that verges on totalitarianism.
I figure that there's going to be a range of behavior in this. Parents who want self-reliant kids, or who put a high value on respect for their kids, will allow them a lot of autonomy, including some bad choices. Parents who care a lot about their kids' safety will insulate them from any risks of bad choices. Most parents will be somewhere in between.