Child safety

[Jasmyn Rios]

Time has evolved into a new and more modern generation. With that, the protection of our children has greatly shifted over the past few decades. There are many wonderful memories my parents have been able to share about their childhood that included no adult supervision. Stories were told of my father and his buddies riding their bikes downtown and exploring the town. Stories were told of my mother and her best friends walking to the movie theater as a “girls’ night out”. Stories of children who would spend most of their day playing outside in their neighborhood. Nowadays, a child cannot even walk to the mailbox down the street without having his mother worried, watching through the window. Children can no longer simply walk to a movie theater, without having the danger of going missing. Children now cannot walk home from school without having the danger of getting chased by older teenagers. Texas has become the #1 state known for human trafficking. Little girls and even little boys go to school every day, yet there is a chance one day they will not come back home. This has now become a nation-wide issue across America. We find that now children need more protection than ever before. Issues like this simply do not just fix itself over time. In fact, it will only worsen through decades. The problem we should be asking ourselves is, “What can we do now to fight it?” Of course, it is safe to say that we wish to altogether stop the issue. However, we know realistically that is not fairly possible. So, what can we do now? Whether what we do is something small and local, or state-wide. I believe that awareness alone is enough to spark the fire in people’s hearts, and possibly place fear into those traffickers. As people begin to rise and show their passion for this topic, it will drive a move.