How to stay "Safe"

My friend and I have had a few little conversations about our girls... being the oldest... and all the trouble they could potentially get in to. Kindergarten is already teaching BabyGirl a few things I'd rather her not know. Then, there's the "dolls" that are turning from innocent to goth and horrish. Seriously! Anyways, it got me thinking about how I was able to "stay safe" throughout my life... not that I'm perfect--FAR from it. However, I think that alot of the expectations I had growing up helped me to achieve what really mattered-- being married worthily in the temple, having an eternal family, being truly happy...etc.

Of course there are the obvious (maybe not so obvious to others?)

1.no members of the opposite sex in your room

2.no back rubs or sitting in guy's laps

3. no single dating til 18years old

4.strict curfew

5.no two piece bathing suits

6.modest clothing (even for prom!)

But a few that I may not have "enjoyed" or thought were really that important really did turn out to be...

-not wearing pajamas out in public or when my brother's had their friends over (I have 4 brothers...and no sisters)

-no friends allowed in my car when I turned 16. I don't remember how long it took til I was allowed to have friends in my car...but pretty sure it was a month atleast.

-family first. This one I finally understood around 18years old. It showed me how to set priorities on what was REALLY important

-no french kissing.

-hugging can sometimes be worse than a simple kiss

Alot of these didn't come as "rules" in my house...well, yes, some did...but somethings were taught in church and I was one who really tried to take it to heart. I was blessed with a bigger perspective on most things (except the pjs and car thing...).

I think the biggest thing is to explain to our kids WHY we have these expectations. For instance I recieved a talk by someone (Spencer w Kimball??) who said "french kissing was like an act of sex" WOW! That really struck me and stayed with me throughout college.

TV is also a big thing... toys we choose to buy our kids...the clothes we purchase them... cell phones-what kid REALLY needs a cellphone...if you're driving them everywhere then you should know where they are right?

One last thing is I remember my parents ALWAYS welcoming my friends over to our house. They had land so we'd have bon fires or play fooze ball or go in the hot tub...trampoline, canoes in our pond...etc. It was okay to hang out at our house because it wasn't boring.

Anyways, sometimes I thought these expectations where harsh. It's funny though because when I went away to BYU-I, I didn't have any problems following the rules...because they were already ingrained my being.