How do you encourage your child to follow their dreams and still keep them safe

Encouraging your child to follow their dreams and still keep them safe is tough!!

It is so easy to see your child as Shirley Temple and that "star"  that everyone loves.  To see the talent they have and want them to share it with the world and reach their goals and dreams .......  And then on the inside you see the danger in putting them out there.  The world is scary just in the regular word but multiply that by a "jillion"....

I can remember when Karmyn had her first big TV exposure.  She was 10 years old and had done the "For Kids Sake Music Video" for channel 12 in Shreveport.. It was cool when friends saw it and commented about it.... In Texarkana........  Then when we were in Shreveport shopping one weekend, I noticed that people were stopping and looking at us but just thought they were "looking at my beauty or cute shoes". ha ha.  Then this guy walked up to me and wanted to know if she was the little girl on the music video... Whoa.... In Shreveport her face was known and the "protective mother in me" was activated.  That shopping trip was over and we came home!

As she began to do more, a person at Discover Television suggested to all the parents that they take precautions and make their address unlisted in the phone book and gave us a detailed list of other things to keep our children safe.  At that point, I think I began to realize the seriousness of having a "child in the public eye"...

Karmyn is now an adult, 30 and living in New York City, a dream she has had since she was 7 years old and saw "The Sound of Music".   It has been a lot of years and a lot of experiences along the way, some laughter, some tears but I will blog some of those times and the lessons learned over the next few weeks.   Stay Tuned!