Attention All Parents

Remember the days when we would get up, eat breakfast, take off on our bikes and ride all over town? Sometimes we wouldn't go back home until later in the afternoon, and our parents weren't really worried about us. They believed we were safe, and we felt safe as well! Sadly those days are gone....

My biggest fear for my children has always been that someone would kidnap them and/or hurt them. I'm a very careful, maybe even over-cautious, parent. A friend send me the link of a website called Family WatchDog. This site allows you to type in your address and see any registered sex offenders in your area. I decided to give this website a try and find out what my area is like in this regard.

OH. MY. STARS.

My kids will never leave the house again.

I'm just kidding. But I will be keeping a more watchful eye on them while they are outside, especially if they aren't playing in the fenced-in back yard. We have an unbelievable 33 offenders in our area. Many of them live less than a mile from me and are guilty of molesting children under 13. There were also a few who fell into the abuse of 13-18 age range. What is this world coming to???

So I'll be reminding my kids frequently of the dangers strangers can pose and guarding their outside movements closely. If you'd like to learn more about your neighborhood, which I highly recommend you do, you can check it out for yourself here at www.familywatchdog.us.

I refuse to be paranoid, but I do plan on being armed with knowledge. This is one more step in keeping my most beloved possessions safe... my children.