I once heard one of the best quotes EVER, and it went a little something like this. "Innocence is ignorance in a pink, frilly dress." - Agnapostate, NYRA forums. Of course, I'm paraphrasing, I really can't remember, off the top of my head, the exact quote, but it was something VERY similar to that. And I agree. Why worry about innocence, when they're going to lose it anyway? It's like worrying about a car losing a loose part that it doesn't need. You might as well forget about it.

Children are going to be exposed to sex, drugs, etc. at one point or another. It's best to expose them to that kind of stuff the minute they can understand it. "When is that?", you may ask. I can give no definitive answer. It's better to get to know the child then judge for yourself. I can't give better advice than that. If you expose them to such things quicker, they'll shrug it off like it's nothing instead of acting like it's cool in the future. After all, people crave what they cannot have. "But, Rob, what if my 6-year-old baby starts doing drugs, drinking beer, and has sex with his girlfriend next door?"

First off, what is your 'baby' doing having a girlfriend at 6 years in the first place? I'm fine with young love, but that is most definitely much too young. (I'm fine with, like, 13-year-olds, but 6? Nah.) Second, you tell him about 'the birds and the bees' and he'd be all "EWWWWWW!!!!!". Let him try a cigarrette and he'd cough his little brains out, never wanting to smoke one again. And beer? One sip and he'd hurl his stomach out. "No more beer for me!", he'd say.

These are facts. Google them if you wish. No 6-year-old is consentually sexually active. Their bodies aren't ready for it anyway. No more fallacies for you, reader. But now you're probably thinking, "CHILD ABUSER!!!". No, dimwit. I'd never do any of this to real children. They get abused enough. They needn't have anymore. I'm an opponent of spanking and such nonsense. You raise a child with violence, he's bound to become violent himself. Show him/her what ways there are, tell them the pros and cons of each path, and, ultimately, in a well-thought-out decision, he/she will pick his/her own path, and follow it the rest of his/her life.

There are really only a few children who need a spanking. I could probably name a few, but that would break my terms you agreed to by arriving here. I'm not going to do that. Personal information here remains personal. (I'm not that corporate guy who goes and sells your name and other information to telemarketer or some stupid crap like that.) But back to the topic at hand, child-rearing.

Hitting a child is useless and meaningless to a positive child development. It's best to educate them, not to leave them ignorant.

Good day to you, my readers.