A Safer Tomorrow
Hi friends,
There was a moment in my conversation with Officer David Gomez that I haven't stopped thinking about.
During our rapid-fire questions, I asked him:
What does a predator understand about children that parents sometimes overlook?
His answer was something every parent needs to hear.
Predators understand that when kids make a mistake online, they may be too embarrassed or too scared to tell their parents—and they use that fear against them.
So I followed with another question:
What should a parent say when their child admits a serious online mistake?
Officer Gomez said:
“I understand you made a mistake. We're going to fix this as a family. We're going to grow from this…”
As a mom of three, that stayed with me.
Because when we think about protecting our kids online, we tend to think about what we can keep away from them.
Which apps should we allow?
When should they get a phone?
How much access is too much?
Those questions matter. But this conversation reminded me that protecting our children is about more than what we keep out.
It's also about making sure they know they can always come back to us.
Officer Gomez and I talked about Snapchat, Roblox, Discord, online predators, sextortion, bullying, AI and deepfakes. We talked about how quickly technology is changing and how difficult it can be for parents to keep up with a digital world our children seem to understand better than we do.
And some of what he shared is difficult to hear.
But I don't want this episode to make us afraid.
I want it to make us aware.
Because we can't protect our children from something we don't understand.
One of my favorite moments came when I asked Officer Gomez what even good parents are getting wrong.
His answer?
We're spending too much time on our own phones.
“Put your own phone down.”
Simple. Convicting. And probably something most of us—including me—need to hear from time to time.
Our kids are watching us.
They're learning from what we do far more than what we say.
And maybe creating a safer tomorrow doesn't begin with the newest parental-control app or another restriction.
Maybe it begins at home.
With conversations.
With boundaries.
With putting our own phones down.
With reminding our children where their worth really comes from.
I tell my kids all the time:
“Your identity is not in your sport. It's not in your school, it's in Christ, in Christ alone.”
Because the world is going to offer them a thousand different places to find their worth.
Followers.
Likes.
Streaks.
Popularity.
Athletics.
Approval.
Our job is to keep pointing them back to something that doesn't change.
If you are raising children or teenagers—or you're a grandparent, teacher, coach, aunt, uncle, or simply someone who loves a child—I hope you'll take the time to watch this conversation.
And after you do, maybe sit down with the kids in your life and have a conversation of your own.
Not because we can protect them from everything.
But because we can make sure they know that whatever happens, they never have to face it alone.
That's how we begin building a safer tomorrow.
Thank you for continuing to listen, share these conversations, and be part of this community. It means more to me than you know.
With hope,
Dallas