The Nov. 7 Reader’s Views column included a letter, “Tell kids not to climb on sharp pointy things,” from a Norridgewock resident who thought that the school department employee who expressed concern about the new fence along the river and West Front Street was being ridiculous.

The writer, Brandon Libby, went on to say that any child who might be hurt on this fence was being raised by an idiot. Because his letter took issue with what sounded like a valid concern by a school department employee, I’d like to respond.

I’ve not seen the fence, so I can’t speak about how safe or unsafe it is; although when I read the original letter, I wondered if something should be done to make it safer.

I do have, however, a bit of experience with children, so wonder how much Libby knows about them. Yes, one of a parent’s responsibilities is to teach their children about the dangers in their environment, but anyone who thinks that a child will always remember and do what they’ve been told does not have a realistic understanding about children and their behavior.

It is the responsibility of more that just the parents to make sure that a child’s environment is safe.

Rose-Marie FortinVassalboro