Protecting Your Child from Predators

"Protecting Your Child From Predators" by Beth Robinson and Latayne Scott is about not only identifying how a predator works but also on how to help/teach your children at different ages about predators. This is such a powerful and informative book in my opinion it is a must read by any church or group that has kids in it. There are so many points that I really agreed with. You just have to read this to be able glean all the good information from this book as it is a very powerful book that I could not put down and I highly recommend it to any one.

Parents, grandparents and caregivers will find a sobering yet helpful resource in Beth Robinson and Latayne Scott's book, Protecting Your Child from Predators: How to Recognize and Respond to Sexual Danger. While loads of books have been written about dealing with trauma, very few offer parents and caregivers ways to avoid the necessity of trauma healing.

The authors identify for readers the most common people and places where predators are found and how they work. The authors help readers think through and form a proactive plan for preventing abuse from happening in the first place. Authors Robinson and Scott also equip parents and caregivers with the knowledge they need to know to help their children recognize danger signs and avoid them. The book is all about good communication between parent and child, which can be uncomfortable. But isn't a little discomfort worth the prevention of childhood trauma from sexual assault and abuse? The authors help readers learn to relate to children at various ages--what and how much to share, how to prepare them, how to keep communication lines open.

This resource has been a long time in coming, and I highly recommend it for parents, grandparents, caregivers, and even church staff as they seek to partner with parents.

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for this honest review. The opinions expressed are my own.

I am a Teacher and an Aunt. When I saw this book was being offered I knew It was something I needed to read. It wasn't an easy read. Thinking about what could happen to those who I love,I had to take breaks in between reading it, and make sure I was fully digesting what the authors were telling me. But I am thankful they have written this book,(Although I hate that a book like this is so highly needed) I pray it will help me protect and keep watchful of the kids in my life. I think this book is something all parents, aunts, uncles and anyone who has children in their lives that they love and want to protect, should read and make notes of.

I thought the premise and set up of this book was good, but failed in the execution.
The great things about this book:
It was set up well, by age level. It was clear and easy to understand without using a ton of big words or babbling.
The poor side of it was that it was quite fear laden. I would be the first one to tell you that we need more info for parents on how to protect their children from predators. But I felt this book did a poor job of that. It instead let you know that they are everywhere. (Truth), but gave very few stats on how these things they recommended you do to protect your children actually work. Instead, there was a underlying tone of blame that I felt.
One huge issue was an encouragement for isolation, from those that were in foster care, family members, church members, to almost a paranoid level, never hiring teenage babysitters, avoiding sports coaches, making sure you are always in the room with doctors and so on.
It did have some good info on educating your child to be empowered and to be their own warrior. I liked that part. This was really good. But the key element faltered in that parents cannot prevent child abuse. We can educate, protect and seek to put safety guidelines in place, but in the end, it is not us that protect. In fact, isolation has been one of the keys that sex offenders look for and take advantage of.
I wanted to like this book, I really did. It is a great need in our society. I would recommend Jimmy Hinton's articles over this book though.
I obtained this book from the publisher. The opinions contained herein are my own.

Everyone from parents to pastors, teachers to teenagers needs to read this book. While written from a Christian perspective, Protecting Your Child from Predators provides everyone with solid advice for both spotting potential predators and arming children to keep themselves safe.

The authors point out that most predators don’t wear trench coats and lurk in dark allies. They don’t lure unknown children to them with candy, either. Most predators disguise themselves as trusted family members, coaches, and church volunteers. In fact, the authors point out that churches provide prime ground for predators due to lack of training and oversight of church volunteers.

According to the authors, the people you sit next to at church each week may have suffered some kind of abuse, “on average, 1 in every 4 female churchgoers has been abused in the past, and 1 in 6 of the males.” Those statistics boggle the mind.

Even more chilling is the authors’ assertion that,

“Like Satan, who “masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14). He [a predator] will charm the socks off parents. And the pants off their children.”

This could quickly turn into a fear-mongering book with example after horrifying example of exactly how predators operate. The authors avoid this by giving case studies and then practical steps for parents of each age group.

Call to Action

The book acts as a call to action for parents to beat the statistical odds of having their child abused by a predator in common situations (church, babysitter, organized sports, sleepovers, family situations, dates, etc.). The authors share research which points out that volunteers commit 50 percent of sexual abuse in the church and paid staff commit 30 percent (they don’t elaborate on the other 20 percent).

“But it doesn’t have to be this way. The past is not the future. This can stop now, and it can stop with the active involvement of parents to inform and protect their children. You can protect your child by empowering him or her to have a warrior heart.”

The authors continue the theme of having a warrior heart throughout the book. They give practical steps for both parents and children to develop their warrior hearts. The authors give brief examples of real-life situations (names changed to protect the innocent), and explain how the family handled the situation and what important lessons the readers can learn from it. They teach ‘safe tactics’ instead of employing scare tactics which leave the reader feeling helpless.

I can’t say enough about the helpfulness of this book and the authors’ no-nonsense approach to equipping our children to recognize unsafe situations and communicate their concerns to the proper adults.

Every teacher, preacher, parent, youth leader, and law-enforcement officer needs to read this book.

This is truly a book everyone should read, I think, especially parents! Many of the true life stories they mentioned as examples in the book I think got a little graphic, but it did cause what I'd like to call a healthy bout of paranoia, lol! It lists things to be aware of and how to stay safe from predators in our modern world, and truly should be a resource for everyone to utilize.

It is a sad fact that books like this are necessary, but this book is a good tool in how to be vigilant and what to teach your children at different ages to help keep them safe.

This book isn't an enjoyable read persay, but it is a necessary and important one. The book is broken down in such a way that makes an overwhelming topic feel a little less overwhelming - by age and scenario. It's the type of book I'd recommend to parents to put on their shelves and then reference back to as their kids get older. The authors provide important information, relevant and practical helps, all through a lens of hope.