Never Ending Protection of Children Meme

I have to abjectly apologise to Alison and Megan for wrecking their meme so freshly started.

I have to admit - I was scared and so I buried my head in the sand.

Megan created a Never Ending Protection of Children meme only a few short weeks ago.

This is what Megan proposed:

This is a meme virus with a twist - a never ending story, just like the never ending need to keep kids safe.
Here’s the rules:

• Add a single sentence to the story so far  (cut and paste the story to your blog and then add your child protection words of wisdom). Anything goes as long as it is a story that can be read by kids and it focuses on child safety. Don’t think too much, just write a sentance that follows on from the story so far.
• The sentence added must be child protection friendly.
• Nominate ONE bloggy friend to continue the story.
• At the bottom of your post, link to the person who wrote the last sentence.
• Link to these rules too so that your bloggy friend knows what to do (send me a track back so I can keep an eye on the story…and if you’ve got no one to tag, tag me…it’s a game and I love to play).
• Send a track back to your bloggy friend or let them they that they’ve been tagged with Never Ending Protection of Children meme.

There’s no cure for the Protection of Children virus. I hope you catch it because it is only together that we can keep kids safe.

By the time Alison tagged me, the story read:

I knee knocked in front of the local child welfare office, my dry mouth wanted to scream obscenities at me and tell me to mind my business. The small child in my arms was doing enough screaming for both of us, arching his back, kicking his legs and waving his arms about furiously.

So what is my problem?

Well - I am scared. Scared as I always somehow break rules or say the wrong thing and so I did what I tend to do in situations like that - I buried my head in the sand.

But this week is Child Protection Week and I got some information home from school that may help me.

Therefore I now have a leaflet that gives me all sorts of ideas of what may fit into the "child protection friendly" box.

Before, I must admit, I played it a lot by ear, because although I know others who had childhoods where protection would have been a dandy thing, my childhood was very innocent and isolated.

I know I should be more educated in the correct procedures on child safety and have actually attended one seminar regarding it, but I could not see ways of weaving my very practical spin on things, my fanciful writing style and the story where it is currently abodes into a "correct" anything. I am sorry.

However - I now have a leaflet - and so reading the story thus far and my leaflet, my contribution is:

"No" shouted the girl "Stop it. I don't like it."

As Megan said that I could tag her back - mainly because I feel I have still not got it right and she can fix it, and because she can teach me (and others) better ways of dealing, look to her blog for the next installment...