I'm piggy backing on Maple Mama a little bit here but the information I have now is really important.
And mind boggling.
I tend to have a very positive view of the world and human nature. So it is incomprehensible that there are human beings out there who want to harm children physically, emotionally or any other way.
I have Friends and Family who have been through this before, so it's very real, but I can't get wrap my mind around the kind of person who would do these things. I have a tendency to try and get into the mind of the person to react in the most fair way possible. I literally try to stand in their shoes to understand where they are coming from before acting. Having said that I cannot do it with these types of people. I don't get it.
The damage that ensues from both the physical and emotional trauma is sometimes so intense that it takes a long time to get past. So education and prevention is very important.
I agree with Maple mama that you have to run a fine line with teaching kids about this. They need to know to be cautious but you don't want them petrified to leave the house. I don't have children myself, but I have been trained to identify abuse in many forms. No matter whether the kids are related to me, or students, or friends' kids, I am always looking out for them and their well being.
I check myspace regularly for my students ( under the age limit or suggestion as I call it since there is no way to enforce it!) and my friends' kids. I also check those that are of age to make sure that not too much personal information is being given out. I warn them that I scan so they know that I do and why.
My new sister-in-law sent me a wonderful website called http://www.familywatchdog.us. I checked it out myself and was astonished to note how many sex offenders of varying degrees live in my town - none too close to me, but in town none-the-less. There is in fact a building that I swear has a policy that states if you DON'T have a sex offense charge you can't live there as so many occupants do. Thankfully that's not in my town.
What is neat about this website, is you put in your address, and a map pops up, your house is marked by a house and the schools are posted and the whereabouts of the sex offenders are noted around the maps. You click on any one of the sex offender dots and that person's address, picture and the specific crimes that they were convicted of come up. There are different color codes for child molestation, rape, sexual battery and "other". Each color has a corresponding color for the work location of these people as well.
It was very much a wake up call to me as my stomach kept turning over as I saw more and live ( and might I say skeevy) people, mostly men, but surprisingly some women, come up on my screen. Seeing them face to face like that just made me ill.
The website also has tips about teaching kids and helping them identify what is OK and what is not. I thought it was a well done website that as long as it is updated regularly will be an invaluable tool to parents.
I have sent it off to most of my family at this time and have plans to forward to all my friends.
Please check it out and forward it as this could make a difference!
For your reference here it is one last time: http://www.familywatchdog.us
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