The REALITY 'Stranger Danger'

As parents it is our responsibility to make sure that our children are safe online and on the streets.

We were taught 'Stranger Danger' at school and by our parents. To not to accept sweets or get into peoples cars, not to talk to people we don't know on the streets and to be home by the time the street lights come on.

The world has and continues to change and we need to evolve and adapt the Stranger danger rule. Access to YOUR child(ren) is so much easier now. With the likes of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok and many other chat sites and Gaming apps! Many children have their accounts open with locations available, photos public and contact details readily available.

The predators no longer spend their time hiding the bushes with a bag of sweets, they hide online behind fake profiles and pictures. They groom and manipulate over a period of time, gaining their trust, convincing them to send indecent images because 'they love them'. They threaten to tell the childs friends about conversations and threats of sharing their images to chat groups they've started and been added to luring the child into a false sens of security and fear. This in turn makes the child too scared to tell anyone because they think that they will get into trouble. The depths these monsters go to to gain what their sick desires want is endless. Children need to know that having the most friends or followers, likes on posts and star ratings on pictures or videos is NOT the way forward.

You need to teach them that the strangers on the streets now hide on the web and everything they post public can and will be downloaded and shared by predators.

Think about it, the picture they post with their bedrooms in the background, the street names, parks and check ins is an easy way of predators finding them. Don't hand your children out to paedophiles on a plate.

It is ultimately you, as a parent, to make sure YOUR child is safe online.

Lock down their accounts, remove any contact details, turn off their location settings, remove any revealing pictures and videos and take control.

You are the parent. You pay for the phone top up credit or bills and you pay for the home Wi-fi.

There are lots of apps available - for free, which enable you to make sure your child is being safe online. Don't think it won't happen to your child because we can guarantee that they will receive images and messages from predators if you do not do your part and check!!