Susie McGee Expert Guru

Susie McGee is an Alabama high school English teacher with eight years experience in the classroom. She has a Master of Arts in Education and English and is in the process of finishing her Master of Arts in Library Media. Susie is a mom to four children, ages 19, 17, 13, and 2. She spends her free time watching her daughters cheer, her older son play ball, and playing with her 2 year old. Her husband is a math teacher and coach. She has been a professional freelance writer for two years and has written a LifeTips site on child protection.

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How Are Child ID Kits Used?

Child id kits are designed to help parents create a comprehensive record of their child's personal information. This information can then be used in emergencies, and the information is easily accessed and available. Emergency situations might include the following:

* A child is missing.

* A child is in an accident.

* A child has been abducted, either by a stranger or a parent.

* A child is involved in a disaster.

Child Predator Characteristics

There are several characteristics that may signal the personality of a child predator. These may include the following:

* Child predators are typically afraid of adult intimacy.
* Child predators search out children who are vulnerable and easily manipulated.
* A child predator may refuse to take responsibility for his actions.
* A child predator generally needs to control others.
* A child predator may have been abused as a child.
* A child predator often has a great desire for power.
* Child predators typically have a low self-esteem.

Child Protection Tips

Keep the following child protection tips in mind as you attempt to protect your child or children.
* Keep your computer in a well-used area of the house, such as the kitchen, den, or living room, so that you can easily monitor your child's activity on a consistent basis.
* Periodically check the history of your computer to view your child's activities online.
* Make use of the parental controls and filters that are offered by your Internet service provider.
* Teach your children to never give out personal information over the Internet.
* Block instant messaging from people whom your child doesn't know.
* Caution your children about the risk of chat rooms, and limit or deny their access.

Sex Offender Search

Since Megan's Law was established, every state is now required to list local sex offenders. The information may differ from state to state, and not all of it may be made public. Public information typically includes the following:
* Name
* Date of birth
* Physical description
* Current address
* Date of offense
* Nature of offense
* Any outstanding warrants.

Meghan's Law

Meghan's Law was created after a seven-year old New Jersey girl named Megan Kanka was raped and killed by a child molester, who had moved across the street from Megan's house. The family did not know about his criminal history.

Megan's family pushed for this law, which is now active in all of the United States. The law typically provides sex offender lists and notification of where sex offenders live. The law also seeks to notify citizens of any sex offenders in the area.

National Sex Offender Database

You can access several Websites that host a national sex offender database, and many states also maintain individual sex offender Websites.
The purpose of a national sexoffender database is to inform the public of registered sex offenders that live in their area. These sex offenders have been convicted as specified in the Wetterling Act as any criminal offense against a victim who is a minor or any sexually violent offense. Typically, this includes information about those sexual offenders who were convicted of offenses involving sexual molestation or sexual exploitation of children, and anyone convicted of rape and rape-like crimes.

Profile of a Pedophile

Child pedophiles are often hard to profile, and many times they simply aren't recognized by others as a child sex offender. They might be educated professionals or uneducated non-professionals. However, child pedophiles do exhibit many of the same characteristics, including the following:
* Most pedophiles are over the age of 30.
* Many pedophiles are single.
* Many pedophiles appear more comfortable with children than with adults.
* Some pedophiles don't have a very reliable work history.
* Pedophiles are typically fascinated with everything surrounding children, including their activities and habits.
* Pedophiles often have expensive child-like hobbies, such as exotic pets, model building, etc.
* Pedophiles often prefer spending time with pre-pubescent children.
* Pedophiles often try to find work around children.

How to Use Registered Sex Offender Information

Anyone can check national sex offender registry lists to see if there are any registered sex offenders in his or her area. In some communities, residents are notified when a sex offender has moved into the area. Take the following steps upon notification of a sex offender in your area:
* Talk to your children about the definition of a sex offender.

* Instruct your children about staying away from strangers.

* Inform your children about where the sex offender lives.

* Be sure your child sees a photo of the sex offender.

* Role play with your children so they understand what to do if they are approached by someone they don’t know.

* Contact your local police department if you feel that a crime has been committed, or if you suspect inappropriate activity.

* Check with your school to find out what precautions they take to protect your child and other children, and inquire about any programs dealing with strangers.

Sex Offender and Child Molester Statistics

According to the U. S. Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Statistics, on any given day there are approximately 234,000 sex offenders who were convicted of rape or sexual assault and are in the custody or control of correction agencies. Consider the following statistics:
* The median age of the victims of convicted sex offenders was less than 13 years old.
* Approximately 24% of those offenders confined for rape and 19% of those imprisoned for sexual assault had been on parole or probation at the time of the crime.
* In one year alone, approximately 4,300 child molesters in 15 states were released from imprisonment.
* Of the 4,300 child molesters released, approximately 3.3% were rearrested within three years for another sex offense against a child.

Protecting Children

There are several steps you can take to help protect your child from child molesters and sexual offenders. Of course you should continue to check sex offender lists in your area on a regular basis, but you also need to protect your children in other ways.

* Don't leave your children unsupervised even for just a few seconds! You might be tempted to let your child be alone in a section of a store, in your yard, in a park, in your vehicle, etc. It only takes a few seconds for a child to be abducted, so don’t leave them!
* Don't allow your child to walk home from school unsupervised.
* If your child is at a neighbor's house playing with a friend, ask that neighbor to call you before he or she sends your child home so that you can come and get your child.
* Don't drop your child off at a park to play with other children alone.
* Don't let your child play at video arcades in stores or malls without you.