Keeping Your Kids Safe from Human Trafficking
July 24, 2023
00:58:30
Dr. Nurse Mama is hosted by Dr. Jessica Peck. Dr. Peck is a pediatric nurse practitioner as well as a professor, author, and mother of four. Today’s teens face many realities we never faced as parents, creating conflict that can lead to shame, stigma, broken relationships, and even a crisis of faith. Each week, Dr. Peck will approach these issues from a biblical and holistic health perspective with the aim of bringing hope and healing to families in America and around the world.
Did you know?
Dr. Jessica Peck is a professor and pediatric nurse practitioner who has been working for
the last decade at the state, national, and international level as an educator and policy
advocate for people impacted by human trafficking?
In a previous episode, Jessica talked with Kerri Taylor, director of Unbound Now Houston
about their work on the ground in Houston to impact trafficking. This week, Jessica takes
a deep dive into the world of trafficking and teaches parents about the signs to watch for
and how to keep your kids safe.
Conversation Keys:
What do you know or have you heard about human trafficking?
What can I do to help make you feel safe and supported?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Three things your family can do to help fight human trafficking:
Volunteer with a local anti-trafficking organization.
Resources
Click here for the National Human Trafficking hotline information.
Click here for your state’s report card from Shared Hope International
Natasha is a grief advocate, author, speaker, podcaster, and content creative.
Through her own grief experiences, she has a heart for the hurting, for the grieving, for
those experiencing and facing hard times in life.
She is a North Carolina native, and blessed to share home life with her husband Clinton
and their four beautiful kiddos who she homeschools.
She is the author of Can You Just Sit With Me? Healthy Grieving for the Losses of Life
among many other blogs and devotionals.
Conversation Keys:
What experiences have you seen me go through that were really sad?
What life experiences have you had that have made you the most sad?
How do you feel about how I supported you in those experiences?
[Choose one of Natasha’s Grief Exercises to do together]
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Bringing all we have to the feet of Jesus is where I find hope in the journey, sometimes
day-to-day and sometimes moment-by-moment.
Resources
Everyone everywhere is talking about the movie The Sound of Freedom. In this episode,
Kerri and Jessica talk about their real-life work to educate and equip parents and other
community members to respond to human trafficking and what you need to know.
Kerri Taylor
Kerri is the Executive Director of Unbound Now Houston.
She is a member of the Child Sex
Trafficking Team’s Advisory Council for Harris County, and on the board of the
Brazoria County United Front Coalition to Fight Human Trafficking. Kerri earned her
Bachelor’s Degree from Baylor University in Education and her Master’s degree in
Speech Pathology and Audiology from the John A. Burns School of Medicine at the
University of Hawaii. As a speech/language pathologist she specialized in treating adult
neurogenic disorders and children ages 0-3. Kerri was named Galveston County’s woman
of the year for 2019 by the Galveston Regional Chamber of Commerce.
Conversation Keys:
What have you heard about the movie Sound of Freedom?
What do you know about human trafficking?
What scares you about it?
What would make you feel more safe and supported?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Your child doesn’t have to experience the trauma of trafficking.
Prevention education is hope!
You have more influence with your child than anyone else.
Exercise it and take advantage of it.
God is on the move and there are people who are mobilized and moving heaven and earth to make an impact on this issue.
Resources
Click here for more information on human trafficking.
Click here for the Human Trafficking School Safety Protocol Toolkit.
Check out some of these other resources on human trafficking based on Dr. Peck’s work:
What Parents Should Know About Human Trafficking: Love Where You Are Podcast with Somer Colbert
Houston Chronicle Op-Ed: Pandemic Causes Child Trafficking to Soar
Spotlighting National Human Trafficking Awareness Month:Warm 106.9
A Call for Nurses to Recognize Child Trafficking as an Emerging Child Health Threat
Conversation Keys:
Tell your kids: You can always ask me anything.
Borgs: What would you do if you found yourself
in a situation where there is alcohol?
Deepfake porn: What harms can happen by misleading people with deepfakes?
Snapchat AI: What have you heard about AI technology?
Social Media: In what ways do you see teens using social media irresponsibly or
illegally?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Planting and harvesting don’t happen in the same season. Release your teen from the
pressure of providing you with instant gratification on your parenting. Have confidence
that you’ll see fruit in the future.
Conversation Keys:
What kinds of exposure have you had to pornography?
What would you do if you accidentally came across pornography?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Start having that hard conversation. Don't wait, procrastination kills good intentions. It’s
okay not to know everything. Be prepared to tell your teens, I’m sorry. I should have
prepared you for that. Then tell them you love them.
Get your copy of The Healing Church: What Churches Get Wrong About Pornography and How to Fix it
Dr. Peck's guest is Christy Boulware
Conversation Keys:
Ask your kids: what do you see about my phone use that seems unhealthy or frustrates
you?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Model to your children what you want you to see them model to you. Be vulnerablewith our kids. Practice forgiveness. Break up with perfection. Allow your kids to fail.Taking off your superhero cape is one of the best things you can do.
Conversation Keys:
On a scale from 1-10 with 1 being terrible and 10 being terrific, how would you rate the
health of our relationship? What made you choose that number?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
College transition is a gradual process. We won’t figure it out the first week. Give us the
grace to fall, be instructive, and be present. Give us time to grow.
Conversation Keys:
Who listens to you most generously?
What would you like me to listen to you more about?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Use light-hearted
activities your kids enjoy to create moments of connection with your
kids.
Conversation Keys:
On a scale of 1-10 with one being terrible and 10 being terrific, how do you feel about
your mental health?
What can I do to help support you to take care of yourself mentally and emotionally?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Don’t underestimate the power of loving eye contact.
Get your copy of Taylor’s book here .
Find Taylor’s 16 week course to finding stillness here .
Conversation Keys:
What do you think is your greatest strength?
How can you lead from that strength in our family?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
When we seek God’s love first, that overflow in our life gives us significance and the
capacity to love those around us.
Conversation Keys:
Can you think of a time as a teen where someone showed grace instead of shaming you?
How did that impact you?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
The thing your kids want most from you is your time, building relationships through simple connection
Conversation Keys:What are ways we can have more fun together as a family?
If you knew I wouldn’t say no, what would you ask me to do with you?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
The Word of God is the greatest resource for all the answers you need. Enjoy your kids in every stage. Be present and savor the opportunity to savor their hearts
Conversation Keys:
How are you feeling about what's going on right now?
How is this impacting you personally?
How can I support you and help you feel safe?
What do you think you can do to be a positive influence?
Hope for Healthy Relationships:
Don’t give up.
You are not alone
Conversation Keys:
Tell your teen, I’d like to share with you something difficult that
has happened in my life
and what I’m learning from it. After sharing your story, invite them to share their own
challenge and remind them you always have an open door for conversation.
Promo for Dr. Nurse Mama
Jessica shares her post-script story of healing her relationship with her daughter. Pastor Brian equips parents for Legacy Milestones through childhood.
Jessica calls out our judgment of others and the social acceptability of disordered eating. Pastor Brian talks about the impacts of modesty culture on body shaming.
Jessica talks about how parental fear of teen struggles is not as great as our fear of how those struggles will be perceived by others. Pastor Brian shares his perspective in staying true to your convictions while showing compassion and kindness.
Jessica coaches parents to listen rather than lecture, seeking common ground first rather than pursuing conflict. Pastor Brian shares his family’s experiences with seeking fellowship in diverse friend and family groupings.
Jessica leads a heart-to-heart about the damage pornography causes to developing brains and the relational toll of keeping secrets. Pastor Brian shares his own personal experience and guardrails for families.
