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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]In my experience, "allowing" a certain amount of PDA is protective because it means it is all consensual. By forcing kids to sneak out, you create a situation where a child is less likely to report when another kid "goes too far" because they fear getting in trouble for the original transgression (sneaking out). [/quote]

This is a terrific observation. Furthermore, a healthy group of kids (i.e. with plenty of witnesses present), there seems to be a lower likelihood that something nonconsensual (or extreme) will occur, as well. This was less dangerous than kids sneaking off alone.

(I should also point out that sneaking off alone often means kids going into out-of-bounds areas that might be out of bounds specifically because they are less safe. I remember attending a church camp as a teenager, where a young couple sneaked off in the night, going into the forest alone. That was really not safe.)
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+1 I'm the former camp counselor above who worked at a camp with a pretty lax PDA policy. I also worked at camps that made kids sneak around. The environment was MUCH healthier at the camp that treated teen romance as the norm and put some age-appropriate boundaries around demonstrating affection. This was also a camp where kids would stay for several weeks to a month, which dramatically increased the number of teen romances. [/quote]

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