Dear Annie: Recently, my husband and I chaperoned a seven-day office-sponsored trip for high school sophomores and juniors. My husband, who is in his 50s, is very outgoing. While on the trip, he developed quite a following among the teens,
Dear Annie: Recently, my husband and I chaperoned a seven-day office-sponsored trip for high school sophomores and juniors. My husband, who is in his 50s, is very outgoing. While on the trip, he developed quite a following among the teens, especially the girls, many of whom developed a little crush on him. I brought up the possibility that these girls would want to friend him on Facebook, and we both agreed it would not be a good idea.
Now that we are home, however, he has, in fact, friended several of the kids, mostly girls. I do not have a good feeling about this, especially when so many innocent actions could be interpreted as criminal acts. My husband has worked hard to move up the ladder at his company, and I worry that he might be jeopardizing his career.
I have asked that he block these kids, but he says it’s no big deal and I’m overreacting. He says he wants to watch them grow up. I have explained my reservations, saying these kids are not his peers, and as the adult, he needs to be more responsible.
My husband and his friends share a risque sense of humor, and who knows what would happen if these kids saw those comments? While it’s OK that he has friended our children’s friends (who are a bit older), I don’t think it’s appropriate to do so with children who have no ties to us. I fear this foolishness will cause problems. I don’t want teenagers stalking us. I don’t want them to see photographs of us on our children’s Facebook pages that may not be appropriate for these teens.
Am I being oversensitive or not? — To Be or Not To Be Overreacting
Dear To Be: We understand your trepidation, although you are expecting a worst-case scenario that may not happen. However, when your husband agreed not to friend these kids, he should have kept his word, and now he needs to back away. Make sure he confines their access so they are not privy to anything personal or inappropriate while he gradually unfriends them. And we recommend you keep an eye on things to be sure no lines are crossed. You seem to have a better grasp of the pitfalls than your husband.
Annie’s Mailbox is written by Kathy Mitchell and Marcy Sugar, longtime editors of the Ann Landers column. Please email your questions to anniesmailboxcomcast.net.To find out more about Annie’s Mailbox, visit creators.com.
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