Empowered Focused Self-Defense

This post was sparked by the online harrassment of a 15 year old girl (using screenshots with permission).

As parents, we can help:
1. Know who your kids are communicating with. Be nosey. This guy is a predator, and likely an adult predator trolling for victims to exploit; and they use reactions to conversations like this to qualify their targets.
2. We won't have the opportunity to catch these interactions as they happen, but we can review them with our kids. Insist on knowing their accounts and passwords (be sure to respect them- ride the fine line of only asking about stuff that might mean danger).
3. The best way to deal with a predator like this person in the screenshots is to ghost them (stop all contact) the moment they say something off, offensive, or petty, or your child gets a feeling that the person they're interacting with might be creepy, is making them uncomfortable or might have less/worse than social interest here.
4. We must teach our children that it is okay to be rude with someone that is making them uncomfortable, and absolutely appropriate to stop contact and block strangers online without explanation or chance to argue.

If you would like to set up a personal safety class, we can help! Contact us here for more information.

Many of us fight so hard to stay in an unhealthy situation, that we don't recognize the harm it is causing to us and those we care for. Is this you now? Think it through and write it out. Talk it out. Maybe even make a plan to better it... Life is short- make it count!