Educate them....Step 1

Proverbs 22:6--"Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it."
Good morning all!!!  Wow what a week, epiphanies, friendship building, running kids around, work, tons of great things going on, but on my mind this week was educating our children.  A couple of friends have asked about how do we educate--how do we protect our children from the risk of them ever being molested or abused.  WOW!!  I wish I knew the perfect answer to this
question, because the last thing I would ever want is another child to ever go through what I went through, to be molested or raped even once. 

My philosophy for our children is EDUCATION, OPENNESS, and TALKING.  We have to totally be open with your children and be sure to talk to them all the time.  Be completely in tuned to them and their needs all the time.
Over the next 7 days let's dive into the "7 Steps to Protecting Our Children From Sexual Abuse".  I have also posted a link below to the complete booklet.  Let me know if you have questions...please post here, send me FB message, whatever works for you.

Step 1: Learn the Facts and Understand the Risks Realities, Not Trust, Should Influence Your Decisions Regarding Children
"We live in a beautiful, safe neighborhood. None of these children could be victims of sexual abuse, right?"

IT IS HIGHLY likely that you know a child who has been or is being abused.
“It can't happen in my family. I could tell if someone I know is an abuser.”
Yet in more than 90% of sexual abuse cases the child and the child's family know and trust the abuser.

CONSEQUENCES to children and to our society begin immediately. Child sexual abuse is a direct source of a number of problems facing us.

• 70-80% of sexual abuse survivors report excessive drug and alcohol use.
• One study showed that among male survivors, 50% have suicidal thoughts and more than 20% attempt suicide.
• Young girls who are sexually abused are more likely to develop eating disorders as adolescents.
• More than 60% of teen first pregnancies are preceded by experiences of molestation, rape or attempted rape. The average age of the offenders is 27 years old.
• Approximately 40% of sex offenders report sexual abuse as children.
• Both males and females who have been sexually abused are more likely to engage in prostitution.
• Approximately 70% of sexual offenders of children have between 1 and 9 victims; 20-25% have 10 to 40 victims.
• Serial child molesters may have as many as 400 victims in their lifetimes.

Thank you www.d2l.org, appreciate what you have put together and your mission!!!
Love you all, praying for lives to be changed.

7 STEPS BOOKLET