Parents Need to Provide Most Oversight in Their Homes

Dec. 11, 2006 — -- In a decision that sounds as if it were designed to please everyone -- and therefore will please no one -- the House ethics committee has concluded that Republican congressional leaders were negligent when it came to protecting male pages from Mark Foley's nauseating advances, but that they broke no rules.

Yet as the debate shifts to who's to blame and why, we risk losing sight of a larger point: In an Internet age, the need for oversight is more important than ever.

No, I'm not talking (necessarily) about Congress -- I'm speaking as a parent who knows that today's unprecedented connectivity offers a mix of pluses and minuses.

Simply put, we parents must provide more oversight in our own homes.

Consider some of the language used in the House committee's report.

Top GOP leaders, we're told, "failed to exercise appropriate diligence" in the Foley affair. They tried "to remain willfully ignorant of the potential consequences."

As parents, we're duty-bound, I believe, to "exercise appropriate diligence" over our children's comings and goings, over their friendships, activities and acquaintances. But, in all honesty, how well do we carry out this duty?

Do we keep a close and loving eye on where they are and who they're with? Are we aware of what Web sites they visit and whom they chat with? Or do we just hope for the best and remain "willfully ignorant of the potential consequences?"

One potential consequence: They could wind up receiving some pretty creepy come-ons from a supposedly responsible adult (even a U.S. congressman). What would their response be to such a pervert? Will they turn away in disgust, even if they think it could hurt their career aspirations? Or will they acquiesce, feeling that they simply can't challenge someone in a position of power and responsibility?

What they do depends in large measure on what you do today. What are the ground rules? Do you enforce them -- and explain why?

Rebecca Hagelin is the author of "Home Invasion: Protecting Your Family in a Culture That's Gone Stark Raving Mad" and a vice president of The Heritage Foundation. She is also the mother of three teenagers.