Send us a text This episode includes a Rachel Stanton, LCSW, who works with this particularly vulnerable population who talks with Sharon about what it means to these kids when we do our job as parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and responsible adults to ensure a safe environment. If you are interested in contacting Rachel directly, please use t…

Send us a text In this episode we look at what it is to be an "expert" and examine whether predators are "experts" in seducing our children. We also look at what it takes to become experts at identifying the risky behaviors that threaten the safety of our children and particularly look at the risks from other children.…

Send us a text As a society we are prone to "label" everything and everyone. Just think about the forms you fill out that ask you to check a box to say whether you are "married," "single," "widowed," or "divorced." Whichever box you mark labels you as a certain thing and you are then related to as that. This episode shares some ideas about the impa…

Send us a text We are learning about the behaviors that are common elements in the grooming process as we become Alert Adults. In this episode, we start to consider how the predator actually uses those behaviors to negotiate the steps it takes to go from meeting a child for the first time to accomplishing their goal of sexual abuse. We look at how …

Send us a text This episode offers ideas for expanding the simple concept of most programs that educate children about prevention. The typical program teaches a version of "Say No, Get Away and Tell Somebody." As our goal is prevention by creating safe environments, in this episode we look at how to expand that conversation in a way that empowers o…

Send us a text In this episode we discuss some research that looked at those child molesters who are already working in the organizations that our children are part of. Who are they and how do we find them and eliminate the risk to our children? What, if anything, makes them distinct from the predators in our families and the volunteers in our orga…

Send us a text This episode considers why "good" parents, grandparents, and guardians need to make the effort to find out more about predators and how they operate. Why do we need to practice to learn and why do we need to be on watch all the time?By Sharon Doty

Send us a text This episode provides some easy to follow guidelines for a "safe" and magical trip to visit Santa. There are tips for parents, guardians, and grandparents about how to ensure the visit is as magical as it can be and tips for Santa to ensure that there is no worry for the parents who bring their children.…

Send us a text This episode explores the challenges faced by schools dealing with active shooter protocols while committing to create safe environments that thwart sexual predators. The challenges are identified and possible solutions offered that give parents and teachers a pathway to finding solutions that do both - or at least don't significantl…

Send us a text This episode speaks about the core tenets of the programs of KEEPING THEM SAFE. We talk about what matters in the development of programs and why and what the program is intended to communicate and provoke.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text In this episode we look at some suggestions based on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children to help school and organization staff and volunteers work with parents to establish the safest possible environment for children during the school year. The principles cited by the UN can help focus the efforts of concerned ad…

Send us a text In this episode we discover some very clear, very specific ways that these potentially risky behaviors show up in reality. We see, from the mouths of predators, how they use the activities that we view as simple and normal to develop trust with children, parents, and communities.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text This episode reminds us that the effort to address child sexual abuse as a public problem or a public health problem is not new - even if it seems it might be so. How this became a public problem and when that happened can help us understand why it appears to be taking so long to stop it from happening.…

Send us a text There are a few behaviors that we know are part of the predators grooming process. These behaviors have been identified for us by those who use them to groom children. In this episode we reinforce three of the behaviors and remind ourselves that is takes time and practice to be able to fully recognize the behaviors and stop them when…

Send us a text Are you the chaperone for the school field trip or the sponsor that is traveling on the bus to music competition or the parent who volunteers to ride the bus with the football team or cheerleaders? This episode is an opportunity for you to consider what it takes to ensure that the environment on these occasions and others where you a…

Send us a text This discussion reminds us of what it takes to shift a paradigm and how difficult it is to get anyone to listen to what we have to say until they can give up their conviction that what we promote can't be done.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text This episode tells the story of a priest's seduction of young men in the parish where he served and how he was able to accomplish this under the watchful eye of parents and other adults. Sharon's family is a part of this story. She knows everyone involved and has had the opportunity to interview the principal complainant and others a…

Send us a text Most people assume that the majority of perpetrators of child sexual abuse are men and while that is accurate, at least 20% of all child sexual abuse is committed by women and almost 80% of the time it is a biological parent - a mother - who is the offender. This episode starts to deal with the unique issues of discovering abuse by a…

Send us a text Many people think that Sex Offender registries and background checks can solve the problem of potentially risky adults. However, that is not the case. They do have their place in the entire process of creating safe environments and in this episode, we talk about what to do with the information from both sources in efforts to keep chi…

Send us a text As today's society seems to focus on everything happening quickly and being handled with velocity, there's a lot of frustration about why child sexual abuse still is not handled. Why are there still predators seducing our children? This podcast reminds us that some societally issues take a long time to accomplish and points us toward…

Send us a text This episode presents the results of an Australian study that demonstrates that predators the world over are using the same techniques and activities to gain access to our children, to groom them, the parents, and the community. Listen to what they say are the strategies they use to get their way.…

Send us a text This short conversation reminds us of the reasons for April being name Child Abuse Prevention Month and offers some ways we can call attention to the need for all of us to have our attention on what it takes to keep children safe.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text This episode includes a discussion of where the "numbers" come from in the conversation for prevention of sexual abuse of children and how these numbers were determined. We also look at how these numbers launched the conversation that child sexual abuse is a societal epidemic and what that can mean for the issue. Listen to settle for…

Send us a text This episode reminds us that April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Blue is the color of prevention. Listen for ideas that you can share with others to draw attention to prevention and ways you can call attention to the issue yourself.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text In this episode we begin to answer some questions that seem to be universal. They are often in the background of our thinking as we go through the training or listen to the podcasts. We begin by talking about the part/responsibility parents have in preventing child sexual abuse and what, if any, risks there are to children of good pa…

Send us a text While we all want to think that children are safe the fact is that they are not. This episode looks at how we can take responsibility for making sure that there are safe environments for all children and that we create a world that works for eveyone.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text In this episode, we being to investigate the world of online solicitation by considering that there are unique aspects of this world. For one, the only tool a predator has is language, so all the potentially risky behaviors are manifested in the way the predator speaks to the child. Recent research has provided us with some hints abo…

Send us a text In this episode there is a discussion of recent research that gives us some insight into the world of young people online. It considers that, although we know that in person social relationship are supportive and important, the fact is that adolescents, particularly those in the LGBTQ+ Community are convinced they are safer in online…

Send us a text Challenging the potentially risky behavior of beloved members of the family is the most difficult aspect of Keeping Them Safe. We must be willing to speak up and speak out and model that behavior to our children if we are to expect them to be willing to do the same. In this episode we examine what that looks like in reality.…

Send us a text In this episode, we consider the labels that society places on all of us at times and how labeling others can impact how we see them, how they see themselves, and how the world relates to them. We consider that leaving off the labels and focusing on the behavior is the way to accomplish our mission.…

Send us a text In this episode we identify some things to consider during this holiday season when children are excited to visit Santa. How do you make sure that the experience is one of joy and love and magic and protect your child from a potential predator at the same time. You can do that with a few simple steps. Preserve the magic - and enjoy t…

Send us a text In this episode, we continue to look at what child molesters can tell us about how they are able to gain access to our children, how they cultivate trusting relationships with us, and how they lure our children into situations and environments that place them at high risk. The practical aspects of what it looks like to keep children …

Send us a text In this episode we take a look at some research from a different source to see how an investigation from a criminal perspective can reinforce and perhaps enhance the value of what we are discovering in this journey. What can offenders tell us about how they work to develop and cultivate relationships that give them access to our chil…

Send us a text Many organizations have agreements with area schools, organizations, and programs to share facilities. This episode looks at the challenges of ensuring that those outside organizations are complying with the standards you set for your facilities and programs to ensure safety for all concerned.…

Send us a text This episode speaks to the establishment of actual physical environments that promote safe environments using the context of the guidelines set forth in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Patents, administrators, teachers, volunteers and vendors can gain insight into how to establish policies, procedures, and practices tha…

Send us a text This episode intends to dispel any notion that we "know" where to look for potential perpetrators because of who they are. It also deals with new research about female perpetrators and the devastating consequences for our children of our failure to look in their direction for the behaviors we know place children at risk of harm.…

Send us a text This episode considers the challenges faced by parents when grandparents, aunts and uncles don't seem to be able to follow the parents' rules or avoid giving gifts without permission. Grandparents and aunts and uncles can see how their unwillingness to pay attention to this warning sign places children at risk of harm from other adul…

Send us a text In this episode we continue a discussion of the Potentially Risky Adult behaviors by considering what it looks like in reality when someone "always wants to be alone with children" and how we can stop that from happening.By Sharon Doty

Send us a text In this episode the need for reinvention of prevention efforts throughout the child welfare system is discussed including references to a presentation by Dr. Jerry Milner, former Associate Director of The Children’s Bureau and Acting Commissioner of the US. Government’s Administration for Children, Youth and Families. Dr. Milner addr…

Send us a text Dr. Maggie Ingram, Health Scientist, from the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and Division of Violence Prevention’s Child Abuse, Neglect, and Adversity Team joins us to talk about a topic that can sometimes be uncomfortable or hard to discuss: problematic sexual behavior among children. In this podcast, you wi…

Send us a text In this episode, Sharon answers several of the questions that have repeatedly been asked of her over the last 25 years as she has presented programs to adults around the country. Among the questions are those that identify the different types of predators that molest our children, why the children feel guilty when they are victimized…

Send us a text In this episode we look at the ways that predators in our environments groom us so that they are free to gain access to our children in secluded areas. Consider that there are effective ways that potential predators manipulate us into giving them free reign with our children and until we recognize those ways of being and acting and i…

Send us a text In this episode we explore how we, as responsible, caring, alert adults can make a difference by simply bringing our already exceptional abilities to notice what's happening around us to the summer adventures we have with the children in our lives. We know how to pay attention and take note of the things that are happening around us …

Send us a text In this episode we talk about how difficult it is to realize the nature and scope of the issue and how important it is to deal with our strongly held beliefs as if they are myths. Looking at reality regarding child sexual abuse it the only way we can create an environment where children are safe from predators.…

Send us a text We all need to realize the scope of the problem of child sexual abuse in our society. We need to consider how harmful it is to keep quiet or to talk ourselves out of speaking up. In this episode, we confront the truly human reaction to the need to speak up and protect others and how we must garner the courage to take action.…

Send us a text In this episode, Ronni Roni, a Keeping Them Safe facilitator talks about how she is reaching out to parents and providing them with the tools to stop predators in their tracks at the same time their children are being empowered to stand up for themselves. Doing both at the same time really expands the power of prevention.…

Send us a text This episode addresses some of the hurdles that adults face when considering whether to communicate a concern about another adult or how to do it in a way that reduces the risk of a bad reaction. We all have concerns about these issues when there is something we know we need to speak up about. Where children are concerned that risk t…

Send us a text In this episode we discuss the similarities and differences between the grooming of a child for sexual abuse and the grooming for a child who is the victim of human trafficking. Many people often collapse the two issues - again in order to put the issue at arm's length and keep it away from them and their family. However, there are s…

Send us a text In this episode we talk about one of the behavioral warning signs that is most difficult to identify and address - too much touching. What is "too much" touching? Are we not supposed to touch other people's children at all? How do we know when we are acting in a way that nurtures a child's well being and when our actions are conditio…

Send us a text What is a gift? We think that is an easy question, but this episode challenges us to look at what we call a "gift" and see whether it is really a "gift" so that we can teach our children the difference. We and they need to be able to tell the difference between something that is truly a "gift" and something that look like, seems like…