Nebraska State Patrolman Timothy Flick visited Central Elementary and McCook Elementary school November 12 to visit with student about online safety. Through a 45-minute PowerPoint presentation, Trooper Tim spoke with students in grades 2 to 5 about the importance of not giving out personal information online and what to do if someone tries to engage them online. He even touched briefly on how online games and social media apps such as TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Twitter are just a few that predators and human traffickers use to gain access to minors.

Parents were encouraged/invited to attend. Many parents, including myself, were very surprised to see 95 percent of the 2nd and 3rd graders raise their hands when Trooper Tim asked how many students had their own personal cell phones. This shocking revelation just reiterates our need for vigilant monitoring of our children’s online activity.

We encourage parents to check privacy and location settings on their children’s devices and suggest that those devices only be used in the family rooms instead of in the child’s bedroom.

Angie Swanson
District 5630 Human Trafficking Chair
angieswanson@hotmail.com