When hiring suppliers, it is really important to depend on referrals or do background checks, especially on the people that will interact directly with the children. This is exemplified by the traumatic experience of Elen Dy and her family. The story goes that they hired Ronald Legaspi a.k.a. Sugus the Clown, a 41-year-old party and theater entertainer, to host their son's birthday party. According to Dy, the clown attempted to molest her 10-year-old daughter during the party and acted innocent when the issue was brought up by Dy's daughter. It is also said that the clown intentionally hurt a little boy for calling him an "old, ugly" monkey. Dy has filed charges and the matter is now taken to court.
See the rest of the story here.
It is a very unfortunate fact that there is still a lot of sick people out there that might threaten our children. The Internet enables us to find suppliers conveniently, but the credibility of these suppliers is yet to be proven. It is up to us to build a community that would help protect the safety of our children from these evil minds. While rumors should not be tolerated, threatening stories like these should be taken into consideration, as a way of prevention and to avoid falling into the predator's trap. Like Elen Dy, we must always believe our children when they raise serious issues like these. Stopping people with their bad intentions is out of our control, but we can always be smart enough to avoid these things from happening to us and the people we care about.
In the Smart Parenting forum, a reader replied to the posted story by sharing her own horror story: a Multiply user that keeps on commenting creepily on her daughter's photos. The Internet is still a very public place; while it provides easier communication with our family and peers, it also gives predators easier ways to exercise their perversion.
We cannot protect our children physically 24/7, but the least we can do is lessen the ways in which they can be harrassed. We have noticed that a lot of parents generously upload their children's photos all over the Internet, through Multiply and other social networking sites. There is nothing wrong with being proud parents, but we must take into consideration the safety of our children. Even though predators won't be able to harrass them over the Internet, it is important to avoid subjecting our children to this kind of threat just because of our carelessness:
- Use the privacy controls in your social networking site. Multiply, Facebook and other social networking / photo sharing sites have privacy options that you can maximize. Share your family's photos only to your family and friends; never let just anybody access them.
- Avoid uploading too many photos on forums, even if the forum or website is available only to logged on users. Anyone can assume a fake identity in registration; a predator can enter expected information just so he or she will be able to access the site - as well as the photos and extra information that moms provide in that site. If you must upload photos, be sure that these are always group photos and not too much close ups, to dilute the focus from your child and loved ones.
In getting suppliers, don't be afraid to ask around or request for clients' numbers. On the Internet, don't be too trusting and open about your family life, unless you have verified that the people you are talking to are genuine. Just remember to always be on the safe side.
