Facts are facts. What children experience as they are growing up, whether good or bad, all becomes a part of the foundation for their future.

In this age of the Internet, it is imperative that parents stay closely involved in and aware of their children’s activities. Especially on the Internet where predators roam, searching for children that are unsupervised and easily targeted, searching out children to pursue and exploit.

Along with providing a fabulous gateway to instantaneous global connectivity, the web has provided a perfect forum for predators to reach innocents. Predators mainly make their connections through Internet chat rooms and instant messaging.

Did you know that approximately one in five children is sexually solicited online each year? These children experience unprovoked or uninvited requests to engage in sexual activities, sexually explicit conversations or the sharing of personal sexual information.

For many predators the ultimate goal is a face-to-face meeting with the child, and in some cases predators are trying to lure children into the Internet’s rapidly growing child porn industry.

Children are trusting. They are no match for the manipulations of savvy, predatory adults who are posing as children on the web.

Once predatory contact occurs, the “message” or information planted in a child’s mind cannot simply be erased. It becomes data in their memory banks, stored for a lifetime. The damage is done. And if the experience is traumatic enough, it can cause mental and emotional scars to last a lifetime.

Do not wait until damage control is needed. Do not wait for an encounter to happen. Do not wait for your child’s innocence to be shattered by the “messaging” or actions of a sick or sadistic mind.

Start using preventative measures today.

Do your homework about the Internet. Keep the computer your children use in an open area of your house where you can see the screen at all times. Set rules and guidelines. Limit a child’s computer usage to set times and days. Never allow them unattended access to the Internet.

Your children should never be allowed to have online profiles of any kind. Those profiles become beacons for pedophiles searching out prey in children’s chat rooms.

Be sure to check and set parental controls through your provider. Use software to block ads, block sites and to track your child’s chat and search activities. Regularly ask about their online friends.

Above all, be sure to communicate with your children! Let them know about the dangers on the Internet. Teach them; tell them – never “go private” into a chat room; never tell anyone where they’re from; never give out personal information; never respond to those they or you don’t personally know; never send or receive photos or graphics; and never meet with a person you met online! Also explain how they should stop all communication and alert you if someone you or they know tries to draw them into communication that makes them feel uncomfortable.

Create a trusting home environment where your children feel safe. Help them to feel confident in knowing they can and should approach you in the event something happens on the Internet that doesn’t “feel” right.

Facts are facts. Predators are on the prowl. And they’re just waiting for the opportunity to strike – both virtually and in person.

In our work with children at Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties, we know very well the lifetime of trauma predators can inflict on our youth. Should you have a suspicion or concern that your child has been targeted, approached or contacted by a predator, contact the authorities immediately.

If you discover your child has been compromised in any way by a predator, seek the prompt assistance of a trained children’s therapist. At MHS, our Youth Programs staff is dedicated to the mental health, well-being and healing of our community’s children.