Sexting Concerns

The North Fond du Lac Chief of Police is asking parents to have a talk with their kids about sexting.  Darren Pautsch points out that according to the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force 30 percent of sexting photos taken by teens and children end up in the hands of known child predators. He says, “To me that was a real eye-opening thing. We talk a lot about the possible consequences of sexting. Even I didn’t realize that it was quite that wide spread and child predators are getting their hands on those images to that level.” He recommends having a talk with your kids about taking sexually explicit photos and posting them on the Internet or a site where someone other than a friend might see them. He says to let them lead the conversation, which might turn out to be a short conversation. He says, “But at least we had the conversation and they know I care and that I’m willing to discuss it and that I’m open to hearing what they have to say about it. So when they do have concerns or issues that arise that they know that it’s okay to talk about and it’s something I think parents need to recognize and understand.” Pautsch also says children should understand that an image they post on Snapchat can be saved as a screen shot by predators before the image is closed.