Predatory Behaviour
Chad M, Co Founder (IPA)
20 Dec 2025
Teaching kids how to recognize predatory behavior must extend to their offline activities, just as much as it does to their online activities. Child predators are not the stereotypical recluses who live in their mother’s basement. More often then not, they are extremely social, seemingly trustworthy and reputable adults who use their position to groom and isolate victims.
The most important tool in keeping your children safe is having open lines of communication with them and regularly discussing their daily activities and interactions. Predators quickly identify children who appear vulnerable, such as those who are:
- Lonely or isolated
- Dealing with family or emotional issues
- Have poor safety awareness (online/offline)
- Have parents with poor safety awareness (online/offline)
Any adult/child relationship should have strict guidelines and parameters. Predators work to sever their victim’s ties to their protective network (parents, friends, trusted adults). Some of those predatory behaviors to look for in offenders are:
- Extensive attention or flattery
- Providing unexplained gifts or money
- Requests for private/unmonitored contact
- Frequent online communication with a child
- Crossing boundaries with inappropriate content
Children can be easily manipulated, especially when it comes to people in positions of authority like coaches or teachers. In some cases, they are not even aware that grooming is taking place. As a parent, here are some behaviors to look for in children:
- Changes in mood or behavior
- Sudden withdrawal from family/friends
- Increased secrecy and protectiveness toward devices
- Age-inappropriate language or knowledge
- Frequent online communication with an adult
Once exploitation or abuse begins, predators use multiple control tactics to ensure silence and continued compliance. These behaviors can include:
- Blackmail/Coercion
- Manipulation and Blame
- Fear and Intimidation
Predatory behavior is carried out by individuals who use a mask of trustworthiness. They typically exhibit traits such as:
- Manipulation: They are highly skilled at emotional exploitation, leveraging a child’s insecurities, desire for attention, or sense of loyalty.
- Lack of Empathy: They are focused solely on their own gratification and lack the ability to genuinely care for the child’s well-being or appreciate the harm they are causing.
- Cognitive Distortions: They use warped thinking to rationalize their actions (e.g, “I’m helping the child,” “It’s a mutual relationship,” or “The child is mature for their age”).
- Situational Seeking: They deliberately seek out roles or opportunities that grant them easy, unsupervised access to children (e.g. coach, religious leader, teacher, or community volunteer).