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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 3, 2008

Easy Answer

In response to: "Is There Life In Spring Hill?" Perhaps you should have kept pondering on whether or not to put your opinion into print.

Of course, the area is changing; life happens. Spring Hill properties and homes were advertised by the chamber of commerce in the 1970s and the '80s as a retirement community, prompting people living "up North" to relocate in this quiet, quaint retirement community.

Well, they did and, granted, there are lots of them long gone, but there are still some left and more who moved here seeking a retirement community. We have given in to the fact that, of course, there are going to be younger people moving here; at first being relatives of the seniors who decided if mom and pop thought it was the place to be, so did they. These seniors began these so called social clubs with the hopes of being able to go and dine and dance without having to endure rap and other younger generation's music.

I could give you a few examples of active seniors over 70 who could dance and work circles around you. You are clearly not at the right places when you are seeing only shuffling and confused seniors. It does the seniors a lot of good to see these younger people having to drive to Tampa, Clearwater, etc., for entertainment; thins the traffic and congestion here in Spring Hill.

The seniors got things going here in Spring Hill, and they have put up with, endured, loved, cared for and raised the past generations of children and grandchildren and deserve each and every bingo game and "senior specials" that can be found. You clearly have a geriatric phobia; get over it.

I am 58 years old and I would be willing to bet that I could out dance and out work you any given day of the week. You won't see me shuffling along and appearing confused. I have been a widow for five years now, and I do my lawn mowing, do my own house work, make stained glass projects, create shelves, etc. and still have the ability to think.

Of course, there are those who have given in to being aged and do not have the mental, emotional or physical capabilities of those younger, but they deserve so much more respect than you are clearly giving. Oh, and I didn't have to ponder as to whether or not to write this; you made it so very easy!

Connie Keen

Spring Hill

A Parent's Biggest Concern

How many more of our children need to suffer before we stand up and do something about it?

Recently, I was made aware of a few startling statistics:

• Do you know that there are more then 500,000 registered sex offenders living among us today, more than 46,000 in Florida alone, and that number is increasing daily? These are the ones that we know about. The scary thing is that there are many more out there that we do not know about. How many children will they harm before we stop them?

• Do you know that the most abused age group for children is between 5 and 7 years of age? Most experts agree, however, that the true age is lower. Younger children often do not possess the communication skills necessary to tell someone what has happened, so the crime goes unreported and the abuse continues.

• Do you know that more children die each year from accidental injuries than all diseases combined?

As a caring parent, I felt I needed to do what other parents did to try to protect their children. We had the fingerprint ID kits done along with the children's ID card. It helped me think I was doing enough to keep my child safe. Don't get me wrong, they are important to have, but really think about when they will be used. They don't accomplish a thing until after your child goes missing! By then it's too late! Unfortunately these are "reactive" tools. As parents we need to change our ways of thinking. We need to decide to have a more "proactive" approach to a child's safety. Children's safety is a parent's biggest concern and we need to do more about it. We need to teach our children how to keep themselves safe before something happens.

Our world as it is today is not as simple as it was when we were growing up. I knew that I had to do something more! While looking for ways to keep my child safe, I was introduced to an organization that has been teaching children's safety in the Northeast for many years. Lil' Iguana's Children's Safety Foundation (LICSF) is a nonprofit children's safety organization dedicated to empowering children with the safety knowledge they need to survive in today's world. Their mission of empowering children with "learned" safety protection techniques is as fundamental to their development as learning their ABC's or counting 1, 2, 3! It needs to be heard and practiced every day. Lil' Iguana engages the child to learn using up-beat music and live interactive stage shows to teach important child safety skills in a fun, non-threatening environment.

Music has long been considered the best method for teaching children. I'll bet you remember "Schoolhouse Rock?" Who could forget "Conjunction Junction" or "I'm Just a Bill"? Just as we remember these fun songs, our children can retain the messages found in Lil' Iguana's songs such as "Buckle Up, Click Click," "Who's A Stranger?" "Harm Alarm" and "Run, Yell & Tell."

This program is incredible and works like no other. Engaging and interacting with our children using music and repetition helps instill in them ways to communicate their feelings more effectively, which helps them be more comfortable telling an adult when they are abused.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to become involved with this time-proven children's safety educational program. I feel it's the best solution available for parents that are looking to keep their children safe.

Lil' Iguana's Children's Safety Foundation has helped save many young lives in the Northeast. With your help, I want to bring this program to all of the young children in the State of Florida. Join my cause and help me bring this program to our state. If you don't help, who will?

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