| There is nothing worse than the feeling that you | | | | might think so but it is important to make sure that |
| have not been able to protect your child from harm. | | | | your child realizes that it can happen to them. |
| That is why it is so important to make sure that you | | | | Everyone always thinks, "It won't happen to me". |
| are taking all of the proper steps in order to make | | | | Make sure that you are explaining to your child that |
| sure that your children are protected. This means | | | | they are no different from all of the other children |
| your seven year old and your seventeen year old. | | | | who are taken from their families. To protect your |
| Your teens need your help, your guidance and your | | | | child you have to explain that they have to be aware |
| protection as well, even though they may not act like | | | | at all times, always on alert. |
| it. | | | | Even after all of that though, it is vitally important to |
| As we raise our children, we teach them about | | | | make sure that you are never leaving your young |
| strangers who try to get them into their cars and | | | | child alone with the computer. You might even want |
| we teach them what to do when they are home | | | | to rethink the whole idea of allowing your teenager |
| alone and someone calls or knocks on the door. | | | | to have his or her own personal computer in their |
| Protect your child any way you can, which includes | | | | rooms if it is connected to the Internet. In order to |
| educating them. However, how many parents teach | | | | make sure that you know what is going on at all |
| their children that their online friends may not be who | | | | times in your home, place the computer in a central |
| they think they are? There may not be a statistic on | | | | location where you can easily walk by and glance at |
| this, but it is safe to say that there are not enough | | | | the computer to see what they are doing. This is not |
| parents teaching this. The last thing you want to see | | | | spying; this is you exercising your right to protect |
| happen is your child being lured away from you by an | | | | your child. |
| online predator so make sure that you are not one | | | | The more action you take and the more you |
| of those parents. | | | | educate your child, the more you will be able to trust |
| Sometimes the best way to protect your child is to | | | | that your child will be safe. Of course, there are |
| show them that there really are cases out there | | | | always those times where bad things start to |
| where young ones are snatched by online predators. | | | | happen. If you notice a change in your child's |
| Of course, you have to be careful with the | | | | behavior, strange phone calls or packages such as |
| information you give in order to make sure that it is | | | | "gifts" coming to the home, make sure that you |
| age appropriate. Is this extreme? Some parents | | | | investigate and put an end to it. |