Last Tuesday, I attended a mandatory seminar entitled “Protecting God’s Children” because I am going to participate in my parish’s CCD program. There were tapes about pedophiles revealing their trade secrets. It alerted me on the need for vigilance even in church organized activities & groups.
Actually our vigilance begins at conception & through the more important formative periods: the first six weeks, six months & six years. The first six weeks in when the brain develops so, the mother needs to get the right nutrition. Six months after delivery is when the child gets impressions about the world – whether it’s harsh or inviting. That message is communicated through touch (and maybe some Barney episodes). The first six years is when the foundation is laid for social-development, those 8 stages presented by Eric Erikson,
After that period is when this seminar becomes relevant as we entrust our kids to the catechists, teachers coaches & even priests & religious. Sad to say that molesters came from that trusted group. There’s more material at www.virtus.org.
And we know from TV reports, how molesters befriend kids in the internet chat rooms. My 9 year-old already chats with other players of Roblox & Adventure Quest. So, one can monitor this by putting the PC in a public spot & with software that records the chat in the file that you can read later. I googled “software monitoring chat tools” & found a lot of them.
May St. Michael the Archangel assist us in our watch.
