HYANNIS – Amid a rise in children’s presence online and remote learning, Children’s Cove, The Cape & Islands Child Advocacy Center, is calling on parents and caregivers to be diligent in preventing online exploitation of children.
Children’s Cove reports that since July 1, it has more than doubled its total referrals from the previous year, and if the trend continues, there will be a 120 percent increase in local sexual exploitation referrals.
They also report that 1 in 5 children will experience unwanted sexual solicitation online.
“As both children and adults spend more time online, one of the unfortunate side effects of that is that parents who would normally be more involved in monitoring what their children are doing online are finding less time to be able to do that as parents are working from home, or as children spend more time online with school, on their cellphones, on their tablets or ipads,” said Jacob Stapledon, Community Education and Outreach Coordinator at Children’s Cove.
Stapledon said that parents should stay involved in what their children are doing, with regular check-ins.
He encouraged having devices that can access the internet in common areas of the home where parents can regularly engage with their children and make themselves available if something happens that the child is not prepared to handle.
“That accessibility is very important as well as having regular conversations with their children about their online world. For quite some time, we had this belief that what happens online isn’t necessarily the thing that needs to be talked about around the dinner table, but that conversation does need to be more regular,” said Stapledon.
He suggests checking in with children the same way that parents would ask about how their day at school was.
Stapledon said that creating a safe, family environment and having regular conversations is vital for ensuring children’s safety on the internet.
Children’s Cove has more information and resources on their website, including guidance on who parents can reach out to in the event that exploitation occurs.
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