WORLD TRAFFICKING DAY: TIPS TO HELP YOU KEEP YOUR CHILD SAFE

As a little girl my grandma always reminded me of two things before I left the house for school. The first one was never to take things from strangers and the second was to never speak to strangers. I would occasionally ask her why I was not allowed to do any of the above.

She would look at me with fear in her eyes and say “that is how children your age get stolen and I do not want to lose you, my precious child.

Dramatic! Right? At least that is what I thought until I became a parent.

As a parent, I have come to appreciate these words of caution as important safety measures. Thus, I have also passed them down to my children to protect them from unscrupulous predators.

 I recognize that the world is a dark place and one should not leave things to chance, particularly when it comes to the wellbeing of children. Thus, I have to do all I can to protect my children from harm, especially trafficking.

Child trafficking has become prevalent around the world and it could be the worst nightmare of any parent. Therefore, parents need to do all they can to guarantee the safety of their children.

Parents must take the liberty to teach their children not to roam the street without adult supervision. Child traffickers often like to take advantage of children who loiter around without any adult supervision. It is always better to help your children understand the dangers that could befall them when they wander off unsupervised.

It is also important to establish trust and communication with your child so that they will trust you enough to tell you about any unusual activities going on around them. Human traffickers often take time to groom children before they traffic them.

It’s important to teach your child(ren) practical safety tips such as not sharing personal information on the internet or to strangers.

Parents must also restrict and monitor activities of their children online to ensure they don’t fall in the hands of dangerous people lurking on the internet. Trafficking occurs online, not just in the physical world.

The safety of your children is your hands. Thus, consider the above suggestions to keep your child (ren) safe from traffickers.