In the past, I've written about our neighbours' great grandchildren. These are young boys, 8 and 6, and they're generally pretty good kids, but they are, nonetheless, kids.

They have a tent set up in our neighbours' yard, and have asked on a couple of occasions if our girls can sleep over in the tent. The girls are 11, 8, 6, and 4.

Now, I now some would consider me old fashioned, but 'm a litte concerned about children of differing genders sharing a tent without adult supervision. Added to this is the fact that the boys' parents aren't very discriminating about what the boys watch, and rated "R" movies are routinely in the mix, with all the "baggage" these movies bring with them. While these boys are, hopefully, not yet at the point where they are going to have a strong impulse to act on the actions they see in these movies, I am not willing, as a father, to use my children as guinea pigs.

It gets hard, though, because the boys don't really understand why we're not eager to have the girls sleep over in the tent. I realize that children often perceive things in an entirely different way than we adults do, but I also realize the innocence of my children, once taken, is something they can never get back.