Parents, public service & the Net

Parents in public service have a new publicity worry to add to their lists: having their parenting experiences disseminated in social-networking sites. The Rockford (Ill.) Register Star tells the story of a school board president whose daughter had a party that got out of hand. The mom/school official had to end it early. But the kids partied on in cyberspace. "Details of her daughter’s party got onto the Internet via the popular Web site MySpace. Party attendees chatted online about how [the school board president's] daughter may have gotten into trouble with her parents and that partyers were drunk." The result was a police visit to their home "to determine if charges against anyone were warranted. While authorities said charges don't appear necessary, school board president Kalchbrenner now wonders if punishment is already being doled out." She wondered if her position (which she has served in since 2001) meant her family was subjected to more scrutiny than most families and who would, in the future, be willing to serve under such conditions.