Look 'Em Up

I just read an article that really got me thinking. I had really planned on visiting this pizza place run by an ex-marine after I read about it in the local newspaper. It sounded like a fun place, and the guy was hands on...seemed like a family place to go. Well, turns out he is a registered s.e.x. offender. So, that got me thinking...

S.e.x. offenders and pedophiles typically go where the children are. I'm not passing judgment on this Marine and what he did, but it just got me thinking about where we live, where we do our business and where we take our children.

Pedophiles can be found in so many places and jobs where children are, we would probably keel over if we knew every offender around us! You will find them as teachers, coaches, in the church, Scout leaders and supposed pillars of our community. We've all been warned about people watching our kids at the playground and around town, but let's face it, we have to do a bit more.

Before even moving into our neighborhood, I checked a few online databases to see what the situation looked like. We were lucky in that we only had one registered offender in a two mile radius. That's not too bad. Here are some websites where you can look this stuff up:

Criminal Check

Florida Database

National Offender Registry

Keep in mind, your state may have additional resources and not all offenders show up in all the databases. Be sure to google "s.e.x. offender and YOUR STATE" to find more databases.

Don't get your kids imagining the boogeyman, but do tell them there are people out there, both men and women, who are doing things with little kids they shouldn't be doing. Touching you "down there", asking to see "down there" and having you touch them "down there" are red flags, and for young children, that's the most you should elaborate on the subject.

Let your kids know it is acceptable to say "NO" to an adult with such requests and regardless of what that adult threatens them with, they must go tell their mom or dad. The kids must know they will not get in trouble, and that their parents will protect them. Stress the safety aspects and nothing else.

How do you go about protecting your children?