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What Would You Do?

I have a question for parents: What would you do if someone asked you to send him or her a sexually explicit image?

I’m assuming your response would be, “I’d never do that.”

Let me also ask, how do you know that would be your answer? My guess is that you’d respond, “I just know that I’d never send someone an image like that.”

The reason you “just know” is based on something very simple.  You know who you are.  You know your personal values and you know what direction your moral compass points.  That’s the advantage of years worth of getting to know your own values and beliefs.

When someone asks you to do something, even pressures you to do something, you have a strong moral base to turn to. This base guides you to do what you know is right.  You’ve practiced and practiced your stance.  You’ve already gone through those teenage years filled with peer pressure and learned through trial and error.

Now that you’re the parent of a child in the age of technology, it is critically important to pass along your years of experience.  Setting a moral base is a process, but as parents we must do what we can to expedite this development.

Because the “send” button is just a simple click away, our children must establish their personal stance long before they are asked to send that explicit image.  Let me say that again.  The time to decide whether or not to send that pic is long before the question is asked.

Sexting, the sending of a sexually explicit image or video through a mobile device, is an issue that often happens because of peer pressure. It also occurs because of the instant capabilities of technology.  If our kids had time to think about the decision removed from peer pressure, most wouldn’t go through with it.

This is where parents can influence their children’s behavior.  Talk to your kids about this issue.  Ask your son or daughter how they would handle that same question I asked you; what would you do if someone asked you to send a sexually explicit picture?

We can’t expect kids to “just know,” because they haven’t had the practice we have.  Take time to help them practice.

Former Missouri ICAC Commander Lt. Joe Laramie (retired) provides strategies and solutions for law enforcement and schools to address policy and training on a variety of technology and child exploitation issues.

Categories: Cell Phone, Parenting

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