So says Donna Rice Hughes, President of Enough is Enough (dhughes@enough.org, December 20, 2020).  She is concerned about the health and safety of your children!

Perhaps you gave your child a new smart phone for Christmas, or even a laptop. Undoubtedly, they were thrilled and have used it for hours ever since the holiday! But are you aware of the dangers lurking behind that illuminated screen?

According to Hughes, predators, traffickers, pornographers and cyberbullies are taking advantage of the pandemic to prey on children spending many hours on-line doing virtual classes for school and contacting their friends via social media or accessing other entertainment. Children are at higher risk than ever because of the amount of time they’re using technology.

Hughes cites the following statistics for 2020:

• 98% increase in child enticement and grooming reports (1/20-9/20 compared with the  same period in 2019, NOMEC, 7/16/2020);
• 63.31% increase in images and videos of child sex abuse material (CSAM), depicting children as young as infants, reported to the national CyberTipline (1/20-9/20) compared with the same period in 2019)
• 40% increase in reports of sex trafficking crisis cases by the Trafficking Hotline (compared to the month prior to the lockdown);
• 80% increase in parents searching for online help in dealing with cyberbullying (Google Trends report, July 2020);
• 186% increase in sext attempts by children during the lockdown (MSN.com, 6/24/2020).

Did you know that if your daughter capitulates to an online predator and sends one video of her naked self to him, it will be posted online and be copied and recopied so many times she will never be free of its presence during her lifetime? Parents, protect your children from their own childhood whims and save their futures, as a result.

Know what your kids are looking at and doing online.

Put blockers on technology your kids use. Don’t let them have unleashed access to everything that’s out there! And don’t let predators have open access to your kids, either!

Keep technology out of their bedrooms and out in the open. Recharge downstairs, not where they sleep.

Restrict the amount of time your kids may use their smart phones/computers. They need to socialize with the family, read books, do chores, and interact with other people-to-people LIVE!

We’re in this for the long haul!  Keeping your kids safe today assures their better tomorrow!

— Posted by Tom Salmon for Doris, a fellow member of the Prince William and Manassas Family Alliance