Let’s be observant and give our children the care they deserve and need. Ever feel stressed? It may be possible that your child, other children, and youth feel stressed sometimes too. The ongoing COVID-19 crisis at times causes additional stress making children more vulnerable to others. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has seen a 106% increase in reports of suspected online child sexual exploitation since March of 2019.

What can we do to help our children and those in our neighborhood? It’s important that critical relationship networks are developed early. Prevention is the best medicine.

• Give your child a fun audiobook to listen to and/or read 
•  Play a fun game with your child
• Take your child for a walk or car ride and listen to your child
• Speak with children and adults about the risks of online activity
• Set safety/privacy and security measures for any online or social media activity
• Report any material that looks as if it could be exploiting children directly to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Childers at cybertipline