OzOne wrote in message ...
On Thu, 19 Apr 2007 15:18:38 GMT, "Maxprop"
scribbled thusly:



By all means. I'm not hypocritical on this issue. As a technical
mountain
climber, avalanche control/explosives coordinator (as a ski patrolman in
Colorado), sky diver, and motorcycle racer, I've not lead a sheltered
life.
As for my daughter, I made sure I never sent her into harms way
deliberately, but allowed her to spread her own wings. Example: she and
three of her sorority sisters wished to go to a Florida location for
spring
break her sophomore year in college. I declined to fund the trip, and so
did the other parents. All four kids were still terribly naive and prone
to
succumb to the peer pressures found in such places. As a senior I paid
for
the same trip with the same four girls. By then she was wiser and had
demonstrated to my satisfaction (as had the other girls to their parents)
that they were able to steer clear of the pitfalls. The trip was great
for
them all. It likely wouldn't have been two years earlier.

You made a wise decision.
They often see themselves as being so aware, so mature but we with
older heads can still see the child within that grown body and often
are "horrible" when we use our parent power to veto an event.

That's life and now I'm getting the "You know when I wanted to go to
,,,, and you didn't let me, well I'm glad I didn't go, It turned out
really bad" or words to that effect.

I've heard that as well.

I love it as they mature and realise that we aren't the fun nazis they
originally thought.

Other countries are a different matter. Most US citizens tend to naively
believe that the same system of justice prevails elsewhere, which simply
isn't the case. The son of a friend was only recently released from
prison
in the Philippines, at age 28. He had been incarcerated since his 21st
birthday for simple possession of marijuana. As an American student
studying in the Philippines, he had been informed of the country's
policies
on recreational drugs, but chose to ignore them. I spoke with him
recently--a very changed person, to be sure--and he told me that he and
the
other American students simply "couldn't believe that the penalties for
simple possession were as severe" as the law stated. His life is ruined,
essentially. He's a mess mentally and probably won't recover to achieve
any
of his original goals.

Yep, seen very similar situations myself...had a friend who rotted
away in a Thai jail ( probably deservedly after being caught smuggling
brown).

Some of the laws in French Polynesia are arcane and provide for severe
penalties as well. And sexual predators are everywhere, including Tahiti.
As the song said, "Teach your children well . . ."

Here here!

That said, I hope she has a wonderful time.

Max