Our children live in an online society, where more people interact over their phones than in person. This opens the door for child predators and they are adept at identifying children who are lonely or are looking for approval. They will masquerade as someone else, slowly gaining your child's trust and once the child gives in and provides them with a private image, the hook is set and the real abuse begins. Children trapped in these situations are hesitant to come to their parents for help. They are embarrassed by what they have done and think they will get in trouble for their actions or, if found out by the abuser, that the abuser will share the image(s) with their friends on social media. In either case, they can feel trapped and as the abuse continues, the feelings only get worse - and may lead to social isolation, even suicide. This is the dark reality of what's happening to our children. Don't say, "my child would know better". No they don't. They don't understand the full ramifications to their actions. They hear, "send me a picture, everybody's doing it". Peer pressure plays on what every kids wants, to be accepted. Watch Amanda's story and learn from it.
