I grew up in a small community and lead a very sheltered life. There weren't too many kids my age that got into trouble. If they did they were the "bad kids." No one ever did anything bad enough to go to jail.

Growing up the way we did jail was not a common place that people went. If someone ever got in trouble by the law is was usually for speeding or if a party got busted they got an MIP. Like I said before we were very sheltered. We knew what drugs were but we didn't know people who did them. If we heard of someone who did, once again they were "bad kids."

About a year I went with the church kids to a scared straight program, that took the kids through the county jail. At the time I was 30 years old and I have to admit I was "scared straight." There is no way I could ever survive. I was seeing this as a grown adult.

I am fan of the TV show Beyond Scared Straight. I think its a great program. I don't have kids of my own, but now a days kids aren't afraid of anything. They don't think they will get in trouble. And most of all they don't think they will get caught and end up in jail. So when they see it is real and that is not comfortable life, I think its eye opening.

Watching the show they did something I think touched a kid more than anything. First they put him in a body bag and made his mother identify him, then they put his brother in a body bad and made the young man identify his brother. That broke him, because he realized his brother was following his actions and could lead them both to that ending.

I applaud parent who care enough to expose their children to that scenario. I believe that is shows their kids how that don't want them to end up and its a real thing that could happen.

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