Do not use ‘back to school’ name boards

WHEELING, W.Va. (WTRF) As kids head back to school a trend that parents have been doing could make their child more at risk for a predator.

The Upper Ohio Valley Sexual Assault Help Center is shining a light on the dangers of sharing their child’s description.

Sharing these personal details about your child and your family can make you more vulnerable to online solicitation.

SAHC wants to remind families that are sharing a photo of their child in their back to school gear, make sure to exclude: School name, Teacher’s name, Favorite items, and School or sports logos.

“Of course we want to celebrate the big pieces of our children and when they start school and we want pictures. When we think about people who sexually harm, they are looking for information that might not necessarily seem important to you, but it’s useful information to cause an increase  vulnerability in that child and give them access, right, gain access to them.”

ASHLEY CARPENTER – EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE UPPER OHIO VALLEY SEXUAL ASSAULT HELP CENTER

Carpenter says making sure your posts are private is a good practice to get into when sharing personal information.

And if you still want to share the first day of school picture board , just blur out the personal information about your child.