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Sharing – Red Flags of child sex abusers from an ex-child abuse detective
ByMikeM December 30, 2022December 30, 2022 Reading Time: 2 minutes

We’ve spent so much time looking at lists like this one, looking for the bad people, and that is absolutely part of abuse prevention. Still, we’ve missed the boat on what might be the most significant tool in our prevention toolkit, taking the target off kids by connecting with them as parents and with other trusted adults—helping them be less vulnerable.

Kids who don’t have secrets make terrible targets for abusers. Kids with support and secure relationships aren’t easily manipulated and aren’t too eager to please adults.

We need our kids to be more of that, starting with having close relationships with the safe adults in their lives.

Read More Sharing – Red Flags of child sex abusers from an ex-child abuse detective
Links | Recommendations

Information about Childhood Trauma
ByMikeM December 14, 2022December 14, 2022 Reading Time: 1 minute

I stumbled upon this post from Psych Central today that I hadn’t seen before. As I read it, I considered sharing it and pulling out a quote to focus on, like I sometimes do, but I decided not to. I decided that because there are multiple things you should go read. The article talks about the signs of childhood trauma, the causes of trauma, and some suggestions for treatment.

Then the author, Melissa Gooden, suggests books for parents, caregivers, and kids, links to places where they can learn more or get help, etc.

Read More Information about Childhood Trauma
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Sharing – The Problem of Male Grief
ByMikeM December 5, 2022December 5, 2022 Reading Time: 1 minute

When my wife and I both lost our parents in a short period, I was thankful that there were people in our lives who gave us space to grieve and checked in on both of us. I’m also acutely aware of how different the reactions were as well. Part of that was the difference in relationships, my wife was much closer to her parents than I was to mine, but there was also an undertone where I was expected to be less emotional about it than she was. Again, plenty of people did better, but it was still there.

I also recognize that I was lucky to have people in my life who saw that. Many men do not have any space to grieve or process emotions other than anger. For those men, read the whole thing and learn how to create space.

Read More Sharing – The Problem of Male Grief
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Sharing – Online business from hell: Child trafficking in video games.
ByMikeM May 9, 2022May 9, 2022 Reading Time: 2 minutes

Penelope gives a very detailed explanation of how trafficking starts online, in chat around popular online video games, and how it spreads. Most of all, however, she provides an incredibly important look into what a trafficker looks for in a kid playing video games:

Read More Sharing – Online business from hell: Child trafficking in video games.
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Sharing – Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age
ByMikeM April 26, 2022April 26, 2022 Reading Time: 2 minutes

We would do well with more of this question and a deeper analysis of “says who” and less outrage. They won’t make it easy for us to do that, so we will have to do it for ourselves, and we’re going to have to teach the next generation.

Otherwise we will continue to see social media eat away at our mental health instead of being a tool that could help it by providing us with a community of people with shared interests.

Read More Sharing – Raising Critical Thinkers: A Parent’s Guide to Growing Wise Kids in the Digital Age
Weekly Links

Shared Links (weekly) April 27, 2022
ByMikeM April 24, 2022April 24, 2022 Reading Time: 1 minute
- 15 Best Mental Health Podcasts of 2022
- What does it take to really treat ourselves with care?
- New suicide hotline number is unknown to most Americans
- Talking with children and youth about difficult things
- Trolls make up fake stories of parents forcing kids to be trans to fuel moral panic– To quote myself from a few years ago – “How much of the internet is fake? Almost all of it”
- How to Talk to a Man About His Mental Health
- Campus Mental Health Services Have to Be More Inclusive of LGBTQ+ Students
Read More Shared Links (weekly) April 27, 2022