Protect Your Kids From Sex Offenders
It's a horrific fact of life today: Child molesters can be lurking anywhere. In fact, 29% of sexual offenders are related to their victims, and approximately 60% are acquaintances — neighbors, family friends, even babysitters.1 You need to keep your kids safe near your home, near their school and near their friends' homes, given that 75% of child abuse incidents occur in either the victim's home or the child molester's home.2
Don't let the responsibility for protecting your child fall to someone else like school officials or other parents.
When it comes to keeping your kids safe you need to take action:
Get informed: With a FREE Sex Offender Report from Family Safety Report you'll know about convicted child molesters and other criminals who live near your home. You can monitor multiple addresses and receive e-mail alerts when a sex criminal moves near any of those addresses.
Talk to your kids: Child protection begins with education. Teach your kids how to yell "No!" and run if they feel threatened. Talk to them about the types of individuals and situations they need to avoid, including strangers of any sort or even male friends who might be offering them rides or "play dates" that you never discussed with your children. Give them the common-sense information they need to know about pedophiles and rapists.
Here are a few child-protection tips:
- Explain to your children the types of behavior they should look out for when dealing with adults, and encourage your kids to talk about their day and to share any "strange" incidents that might have occurred.
- Check out the policies at your children's schools concerning after-school releases if parents aren't there, and create a plan with your family to address any holes in your kids' security. Work with the parents of their neighborhood friends to create a "buddy system" so your kids never walk home alone.
- Keep an eye out for friends, neighbors or acquaintances who show an undue interest in your children's sexuality, shower them with unexpected gifts and/or unwanted physical contact, or seek to spend time alone with them.
- Teach your children how to find help if they become lost; create child ID tags and kits to aid police and other helpers in reuniting them with you.
Protect your kids online: Child molesters can lurk anonymously on the Internet and prey on your kids without you knowing it. To keep your kids safe online, it's crucial to talk to them about Internet safety so they don't become an online victim. You can also install parental control software to block your children from accessing websites and chatrooms where child molesters and abusers may be lurking.
One recent U.S. Department of Justice study reported that 60 percent of child molesters released from prison had molested a child 13 years of age or younger.3 By law, convicted child molesters are obligated to inform the local police when they move into a new neighborhood. Knowing who they are and where they live can help you alert your children about people and places to avoid and provide you with additional peace of mind concerning your children's safety.
The data on child molesters may be horrifying, but you can take matters into your own hands right now. Get your FREE Family Safety Report today — and get started on protecting your kids against every parent's worst nightmare.