Is My Child At Risk?

Maybe.

There are a few things you can check. Has their behavior changed recently? Are they spending dramatically more or less time online? Are your cell phone bills through the roof suddenly? The first place to start is by talking to your child. Being open with them, and not spying on them helps. Be worthy of their trust. We have developed a few family chat pointers that may help you get the talk going. Feel free to develop your own and if they work, share them with us. We're all in this together.

We have some family projects and activities you may want to try. But we need to understand that most kids after the age of eight or nine are possible targets. But don't panic. Keep things in perspective. Unless we lock them in the closet until they are 21, they face risks every single day. It's our job to try and eliminate and reduce those risks and to try and teach them how to handle the ones we can't avoid. It's called "growing up."

The rest involves a combination of hope, prayers and anything you can evoke to keep your children safe where ever they go and whatever they do. And being there for them when things go wrong, without judging them unfairly or being part of the problem. Ultimately, our job is to make sure that we help develop the "filter between their ears." And we need to remember that we must upload to that filter often, with our values and life lessons and ways our children can be productive and good people.