Not a month goes by that I don’t think about the time my brother and I were picked up by a stranger, a woman, and dropped of us off. I was a third grader and he was in first grade. I had never seen this woman before and never saw her again. But, thinking in this day and age of scores of predatory pedophiles, if that woman had been filled with ill intentions and had a corroded soul, we might never have been seen again.
Unfortunately, too many children fall prey to reptiles on two feet and the vulnerable kids’ innocent spirits are devoured in an instant. And it seems to be getting worse. According to reports, child sexual abuse is such an epidemic in this so-called Puritanical country that 1 in 3 girls and 1 in 6 boys are sexually abused before their 18th birthday with the average age of a victim being 9 years old. And, as we know by now, if your child is molested, there’s a 90-95 percent chance it was done by someone you know, not by a stranger.
Not With My Child informs and educates the public about child predators and pedophiles in order to eliminate the threat that they pose to children. Through public education and community service, we strive to make the world a safer place for children.
How can you protect your children? Remember, pedophiles are like hunters on the plains of central Africa: They wait in the wings and stalk their prey in order to feed their appetites without any concern with how they will permanently twist their victims’ hearts.
- Teach your children to avoid contact and conversation with strangers and to run to safety if an adult tries to pursue them and even make noises if necessary.
- Teach children that their body is their own and that no one can touch it without permission. Establishing open and direct communication at a very early age about sexuality and “private body parts,” using the correct names for genitals and other parts of the body, will help children understand what is and what is not allowed for adults in contact with them
- Don’t give these predators power over you by accepting their lies. They rely on the embarrassment of talking about child molestation. They know that most people won’t bring the subject up. They use this to their advantage. Don’t let them.
- Teach children the difference between appropriate and inappropriate touching.
- Instruct children on the good secrets, like birthday parties, and bad ones. Bad secrets like bribes and threats are the main tools predators use to keep children on lock while they continually abuse them without outside detection.
–terry shropshire
