It should be unnecessary to say it, but adults should monitor children’s activities, not engage in them.

The AP reports on a 49 year old woman indicted for initiating a hoax on MySpace that led to a 13 year old’s death. The alleged reason for the hoax? To find out if the girl was saying bad things about her daughter.

Never mind the stunning bad judgment in starting the hoax, where the mother is alleged to have impersonated an interested 16 year old boy, but this woman is charged with then “dumping” the girl by stating that the “world would be better off without you.”

All of the allowances we make for youth don’t apply here; this woman is an adult. Her words, she knows, have consequences that often go beyond the immediate effect. She knew, or should have known, that 13 year old children are often vulnerable, and that first crushes are often totally encompassing. The 13 year old’s death by suicide is not surprising in that context.

Adults, who don’t play in the playground, are still charged with knowing the risks associated with the equipment. Supervision is meant not to protect just your child, but all the children. And you don’t hurt one child to make your child feel better, you try to protect them all.

If the allegations are true, this woman caused a girl’s death, just as surely as if she pushed her off the top of the Jungle Jim.