Online Predators: Keeping Your Kids Safe

Hi friends. This is the final post in my three-part series on Internet safety and kids. You can read the first and second posts here and here. Today’s PG-rated post turns dark as you and I see how online predators lure teens into meeting with them and having sex.

FACT: About 75 percent of victims of online predators are 13 to 15 years old.

FACT: About one-half of predators send gifts like jewelry and teddy bears to their victims.

FACT: 83 percent of victims who met their offender face-to-face willingly went somewhere with him (mall, restaurant, even a hotel or the man’s home).

These statistics come from CovenantEyes.com, an excellent Christian resource on Internet safety. I  highly recommend that you visit its site.

Predators prey on teen’s desire to be liked and on his or her sexual curiosity. Contrary to popular belief, almost all predators do not hide their age or their sexual intentions. Rather, they “groom” their prey through sympathy and flattery, and spend time with them online, developing a relationship with the teen.

Is Your Kid a Likely Target?

While all children are potential targets, CovenantEyes.com says, the most likely target shares these characteristics:

~ is a teen, rarely a preteen;

~ is willing to talk about sex online with a stranger;

~ has a desire for adventure and romance;

~ post seductive photos online;

~ has knowledge that they’re meeting with an adult when they meet the predator in person;

~ meets with the predator repeatedly over a period of time (in 70 percent of cases.

As you may have guessed, very often the teen has an in-person connection with the predator before they begin sexual Internet communication. Girls and boys are both at risk.

How You Can Help Your Teen

1. Pay attention to tell-tale signs: Is your teen becoming more secretive about their time on the computer or mobile device? Is he or she increasingly withdrawing from family and friends offline?

Continue reading this post at BasicsMatter.com, where I write on Mondays. Click here to finish post on online predators.

Question: What would you do if you suspected that an online predator has contacted your child?

With Joy Overflowing!

 

 

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