Computer Safety and Kids Dear mom, I would like to plead with you to safeguard your children while they are on the computer. They need an escape plan. What happens WHEN something that your family deems unacceptable pops up in front of their eyes? In the old days, we would Stop, Drop, and Roll to put out a fire… remember? Teach your kids that there is junk out there. No matter how hard you try, it will eventually sneak into your home. STOP: When the junk pops up. Stop! Close the laptop, click off the screen, turn off the computer. DROP: Drop what they are doing, immediately. ROLL: Roll out of their chair and come find you and tell you what happened. Unfortunately, I write this because one of my kids got attacked yesterday. They were working on an online math site and accidentally closed the window. When they attempted to find the page again, they were accosted by a grotesque naked woman. I knew the moment he said, “Mom, can I talk to you alone?” that something was wrong. Through tears he shared what happened. So what did I do? How are we handling this? I hugged him and prayed over him. I asked him if his eyes lingered. He said NO and that he wanted to throw up. I assured him he did nothing wrong. As a christian, it is important to me that he understood that he did not sin. We prayed again, then we developed a defense plan. It is not always enough to simply ask the Lord to take the image away, we need to replace the thought with something good. We found a picture of something that he found lovely. In his case, it was a mature buck standing in a wheat field. He has a plan for when the enemy will attack his thoughts: first, he will pray and begin singing a worship song or reciting a memory verse. If the images taunt his mind, he will pull out the deer and focus on some aspect of the picture intensely and talk about it with the Lord… “Look at the way the light reflects off his coat, Lord. He is truly a magnificent creature. Your creation is amazing and wonderful”. We then put on worship music and started singing, and then got to work outside pulling weeds. My heart is so grieved for him, and yet I trust the Lord will get him through! Teach your kids what to do. It is going to happen. Terrible, I know but true. Equip them with the skills needed to get out alive. Other great resources: 10 Ways to Immunize Kids from Pornagraphy Covenant Eyes: Computer Software I would love to hear from you. What have you done to prepare your kids?