When we speak to parents we talk to them about the process of protecting their kids, actually early on, about the messages they're giving their kids from pre-school onward. It's really about open communication and giving the kids the message that if anything happens to them they feel uncomfortable with, whether it's in the online or the offline world, they should talk to an adult they trust. And we actually tell parents to make it okay for their kids not to go to the parents. So I would say to my child, I'd really want you to come to me, but if you were embarrassed or you didn't want to, who else could you go to who you trust about anything that happens that makes you feel uncomfortable?
We also help parents to understand what's normal for teens. When we didn't have the Internet, we flirted, and that was normal. Kids now have the Internet for flirting. So say to your kids, hey, we get it, you guys do this; but again, if anything happens that makes you feel uncomfortable, talk to someone you trust.
We also tell parents it's about self-esteem, it's about the types of kids who offenders target, and it's about supervision and how that changes over the developmental path. So we do give them a developmental perspective around that.