Historia Para Asustar A Mi Hijo

A Story to Scare My Son, by reddit user OvenFriend

“Son, we need to have a chat about Internet Safety.” I slowly crumpled down onto the floor next to him. His laptop was open and he was playing Minecraft on a public server. His eyes were locked into the action. Comments scrolled down the side of the screen in a chat box. “Son, can you stop your game for a minute?”

He exited the world, closed the laptop, and looked up at me. “Dad, is this going to be another cheesy scary story?”

"Whhaaaat?" I faked hurt feelings for a second, and then grinned at him, "I thought you liked my cautionary tales?" He grew up listening to my stories about children who encountered witches, ghosts, werewolves, and trolls. Like many generations of parents, I used scary stories to reinforce morals and teach lessons about safety. Single dads like me should use all the parenting tools at their disposal.

He scrunched his face a little, “They were fine when I was six. But now that I’m getting older, they don’t scare me anymore. They seem kinda silly. If you are going to tell a story about the Internet, can you make it really, really scary!?” I squinted at him incredulously. He folded his arms, “Dad. I’m ten and I can handle it.”

"hmm… okay… I’ll try."

I began, “Once upon a time, there was a boy named Colby….” His expression indicated that he wasn’t impressed with the terror of the introduction. He sighed deeply and settled in for one of Dad’s cheesy stories. I continued…

Colby went online and joined several children’s websites. After a while, he started talking to other kids in-game and on the message boards. He made friends with another ten year old boy named Helper23. They liked the same video games and shows. They laughed at each other’s jokes. They explored new games together.

After several months of friendship, Colby gave Helper23 six diamonds in a game they were playing. This was a very generous gift. Colby’s birthday was coming up and Helper23 wanted to send him a cool present in real life. Colby figured it wouldn’t hurt to give Helper23 his home address - as long as he promised not to tell it to any strangers or grownups. Helper23 swore he wouldn’t tell anyone else, not even his own parents, and set about mailing the package.

I paused the story and asked my son, “Do you think that was a good idea?” “No!” he said shaking his head vigorously. In spite of himself, he was getting into the story.

Well neither did Colby. Colby felt guilty about giving away his home address - and his guilt began to grow. And grow. By the time he put on his pajamas the next night, his guilt and fear were larger than anything else in his life. He resolved to admit the truth to his parents. The punishment would be steep, but it was worth it to have a clear conscience. He squirmed in his bed as he waited for his parents to tuck him in.

My son

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