Speak To Your Children!

What you will read will probably make you sick, definitely sad, and hopefully angry enough to do something about it. I ask that you read this with an open mind and I hope that you will not turn away from it because this is a problem that is happening to thousands and thousands of innocent children all over the country and the world.
The Internet predator is becoming an even more popular foe to our children these days. As children, we (the adults) were told things like "don't talk to strangers", and "don't accept a ride from a stranger". Many of those same things that we were told, apply to our own children today. Yet many adults will gladly allow their son or daughter to be on the Internet at night time or unsupervised. Question? Would you allow your 10 year old daughter to walk alone and unsupervised in the local shopping mall or park? I'm sure you wouldn't. Well the SAME dangers to your child apply on the Internet as they do out among various strangers. There are no more child predators out now than there were when we were children, but NOW, with the presence of the Internet, there is a new breed of child predator to add to the mix.
Two weeks ago Oprah had a special on Internet predators. And let me tell you what I saw on that segment will haunt me for a very long time.
At the Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a clearinghouse for online pornographic images of children, 50 analysts screen between 100,000 and 200,000 image and video files. Working with Internet providers and the public, they help law enforcement officials keep up with the movement of these files. Pedophiles take these images and trade them like baseball cards. One analyst described what she sees as "Horrific".
"We're seeing sexual abuse including oral penetration, vaginal, anal penetration," says Michelle, another analyst. "We see children with dog collars on their necks. Kids with plastic bags over their heads. Foreign object insertion with these children."
One particular disturbing new trend for these ANIMALS involves predators engaging in live video chats that include on-demand child molestation and rape. This has caught the attention of the cyber crimes division of the Department of Homeland Security, which combats child exploitation. There are even cases where cases where infants have been molested on live feed. When the violators are caught, their reason for using such a young child is because the child can't articulate the violation that they've received.
Authorities have even discovered videos and manuals created by pedophiles that give instructions on how to molest and rape children just months old and how to get away with the crime. Some videos even use well-known cartoon characters to desensitize the children to rape.
Let me be clear on something...Danger isn't just lurking with strangers or at the playground, many children are abused by people they know and trust. Three out of four children who are sexually abused know their offenders, and 35 percent of the time the abuser is the child's own parent.
So what can we do as parents, friends, uncles, aunts, brothers and sisters? Inform yourself and your children!
I am a new mom, and from the moment I laid eyes on my little girl I knew that there wasn't anything I would not do for her. I guess the best way for me to describe it is The Lioness or Mother Bear instinct.
I guess the most important thing I want everyone to take between from this is to please, please talk to your children. Make sure there are always open lines of communication between you and them, monitor their internet usage, and always make sure you know and trust the people around them.