What is this campaign?

Breaking Thru’s 2026 back-to-school parent campaign is built around “7 Dangers Facing Your Kid This School Year.” It gives parents warning signs, concrete actions, and exact conversation starters.

The seven dangers are the parent-facing expression of Breaking Thru’s Seven-Pillar Framework. Parents encounter the concrete danger first; the framework remains underneath the campaign.

Is this meant to scare parents?

No. The guide says: “We are not here to scare you. We are here to hand you a flashlight.” The campaign names real fears and immediately gives parents something they can do.

What makes the guide different?

Every danger includes warning signs, what to do, and a “Say This Tonight” script so parents do not have to invent the first sentence.

Is Breaking Thru a clinic?

The parent guide describes Breaking Thru as a parent-led movement, not a clinic. The guide is educational and is not medical advice or a substitute for professional care.

How can a school, church, employer, or community group help?

Share the guide through QR codes, newsletters, parent nights, printed packets, social channels, employee communications, and community events.

7 dangers Florida is facing
& how they target your kids

Children will continue to battle these dangers in silence until trusted adults and community leaders consistently show up together. This back-to-school season, sit down with your kid and ask the difficult questions.

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

A stranger poses as a teen, builds trust over days or weeks, gets one photo, then threatens to send it to everyone your child knows unless they pay or send more. It moves fast. Some kids go from first contact to crisis in under 24 hours.

WHAT LAW ENFORCEMENT IS SEEING

The FBI reports sextortion cases against minors are rising, with a sharp increase in financially motivated sextortion targeting teenage boys. The FBI's Atlanta field office named it one of three top back-to-school concerns for families this year. Predators typically make contact on gaming platforms, social media, and messaging apps — not the dark corners of the internet parents imagine.

Warning Signs

Sudden panic, secrecy, or fear tied to their phone
Deleting apps or accounts abruptly
Asking for money, gift cards, or crypto with no explanation
Withdrawing hard and fast over hours, not weeks
A new "friend" they've never met in person
Hiding the screen when you walk in

What to do

› Do not delete anything. Screenshots and messages are evidence.

› Block the account — but preserve the profile.

› Report to the FBI: 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov

› Call NCMEC's Take It Down service to get images removed.

› Contact your local sheriff's office. They have handled this before.

› Your child is the victim of a crime. Say that out loud to them.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN SAY

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"I need you to hear something, and I need you to remember it. If anyone online ever gets a picture of you — or tricks you into sending one — you come to me. You will not be in trouble. Not for one second. I will be on your side and we will fix it together. There is nothing you could do that would make me stop being on your team."

"Has anyone you don't know in real life ever tried to talk to you online?"

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

Danger Three: Self-Harm & the Silence Around It

This is the page parents often skip. Please don't. Self-harm is rarely about wanting to die — it is most often a child trying to manage pain they don't have words for. And it is one of the most hidden behaviors in adolescence, especially among girls.

WHAT THE DATA SHOW

CDC surveillance found 42% of high school students reported persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, and emergency department visits for self-harm among adolescent girls rose sharply over the past decade. Suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among Americans aged 10–24. Rates are highest among adolescent girls and LGBTQ youth.

Warning Signs

Long sleeves or pants in Florida heat; refusing to swim
Unexplained marks, or explanations that keep changing
Withdrawing from everyone, including people they love
Giving away things that matter to them
Talking about being a burden, or "everyone would be fine without me"
A sudden, unexplained calm after a long low period

What to do

› Ask directly. Asking does not plant the idea. Research is clear on this.

› Stay calm on the outside, even if you are not calm inside.

› Do not promise secrecy. Promise partnership.
› Call their pediatrician this week — not "at some point."

› Reduce access to anything that could be used for harm, quietly.

› Stay physically nearby. Presence matters more than words.

IF YOU BELIEVE YOUR CHILD IS IN IMMEDIATE DANGER

Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) — free, confidential, 24/7. Or call 911. Do not leave your child alone. You do not need to be certain to make the call.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"I want to ask you something straight, and I'm not going to freak out no matter what you say. Have you been hurting yourself, or thinking about it?"

"I'm not asking so I can take something away from you. I'm asking because I love you and I want to carry some of this instead of you carrying all of it alone."

Danger Three: Self-Harm & the Silence Around It

Danger Two: Online Abuse & the 24-Hour Locker Room

Bullying used to end at 3:15. Now it follows your child home, into their bed, onto a device they cannot put down — with an audience, a scoreboard, and a permanent record. And it increasingly includes AI- generated fake images of real classmates.

WHAT'S DIFFERENT IN 2026

CDC data show 77% of U.S. high school students use social media several times a day. What's new is the tooling: group chats that exclude one kid on purpose, anonymous apps, screen-recorded humiliation, and AI apps that can generate fake explicit images of a real student from a single yearbook photo. Girls are the primary targets of image-based abuse; boys are the primary targets of financial extortion.

Warning Signs

Dreading school, faking sick, "stomach aches" on Sunday nights
Emotional crash after checking the phone
Dropping a friend group with no explanation
Quitting a team, club, or activity they used to love
Sleeping much more — or much less
Self-criticism that sounds like it came from someone else

What to do

› Screenshot everything before it disappears.

› Report to the school in writing — email, not a hallway conversation.

› Ask the school for their written anti-bullying policy and timeline.

› If images are involved, treat it as a police matter, not a school matter.

› Don't force them to "just log off" — that reads as punishment for being hurt.

› Rebuild one in-person friendship. One is enough to start.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"I'm not going to ask if you're being bullied, because nobody wants to answer that. So I'll ask it differently: is there a group chat, an account, or a person online right now that makes your stomach drop when you see their name?"

"You don't have to tell me the whole thing. Just tell me one true sentence about it and we'll go from there."

Danger Two: Online Abuse & the 24-Hour Locker Room

Danger Four: One Pill. Fake Vapes. High- Potency THC.

The conversation you had with your parents about drugs is obsolete. Today, the danger is not a kid seeking out a hard drug. It's a kid taking what they believe is a Xanax or an Adderall from a classmate — pressed in a criminal lab, containing fentanyl.

WHAT EVERY FLORIDA PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW

DEA lab testing found that a large share of seized counterfeit pills contain a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl — and counterfeits are visually indistinguishable from real pharmaceuticals. Fentanyl now accounts for the majority of adolescent overdose deaths. Roughly 1.63 million middle and high school students report current e-cigarette use, and today's cannabis runs 15–25% THC versus about 4% a generation ago — a different drug entirely for a developing brain.

Warning Signs

Rapid, unexplained change in friend group
Grades sliding; quitting activities
Money disappearing, or money appearing
Sweet or chemical smells; unfamiliar USB-looking devices
Sudden mood swings, irritability, or flat affect
Coded emoji conversations in messages

What to do

› Rule for your house: no pill from anyone but a pharmacist. Ever.

› Lock up your own prescriptions. Count them.

› Get naloxone (Narcan). It's available at Florida pharmacies without a prescription.

› Know that dealers reach kids through Snapchat and Instagram, not street corners.

› Talk about vapes as an addiction product, not a rebellion.

› If use is regular, call your pediatrician. Don't wait for rock bottom.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"I need one promise from you, and it's not about never making a mistake. It's this: you never take a pill that didn't come from a pharmacy with your name on the bottle. Not from a friend. Not from someone's older brother. Not one. Because they're being made in fake labs now and one is enough to kill you, and you would never see it coming."

"And if you or a friend ever takes something and it goes wrong — you call me. No lecture. I will just come."

Danger Four: One Pill. Fake Vapes. High- Potency THC.

Danger Five: The AI "Friend" in Your Child's Pocket

This is the newest danger on this list, and the one almost no parent is watching. AI companion apps are built to feel like a friend who is always available, always interested, and never disappointed in your child. For a lonely kid, that pull is enormous — and it is not a friendship.

WHY EXPERTS ARE SOUNDING THE ALARM

Common Sense Media concluded AI companions pose an "unacceptable risk" to users under 18. A 2025 study in JAMA Network Open found roughly one in eight adolescents and young adults had used generative AI for emotional support when sad, angry, or nervous. Multiple lawsuits have been filed alleging AI companions failed to respond appropriately when teens disclosed thoughts of self-harm. As one school counselor put it: kids aren't learning to handle conflict, because the AI never creates any.

Warning Signs

Long, private conversations with an app — often late at night
Referring to an AI by a name, like a person
Choosing the app over real plans with friends
Distress or agitation when access is limited
Real friendships quietly thinning out
Telling the AI things they won't tell you

What to do

› Ask what apps they use. Character.AI, Replika, Talkie, Chai, Nomi.

› Keep AI use in shared spaces, not bedrooms — same as any screen.

› Don't mock it. Ridicule guarantees they'll hide it.

› Get curious about why the AI feels easier than people.

› Rebuild one real, in-person connection. That's the actual fix.

› If your child is depressed or isolated, an AI is not treatment. Get help.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"I'm not going to take anything away and I'm not judging you. I just want to understand — do you ever talk to an AI when something's bothering you? What's it like?"

"Here's the thing I worry about. It'll always agree with you. Real people won't, and that friction is actually the thing that makes you strong. I'd rather you have one real friend who annoys you sometimes than something that never does."

Danger Five: The AI "Friend" in Your Child's Pocket

Danger Six: Sports Betting, Loot Boxes & the Boy Crisis Nobody's Naming

Online sports betting arrived in Florida in December 2023, and the fallout has landed squarely on young men. Your son may not have an account — but he almost certainly has friends who do, sees the ads constantly, and has been trained by video game loot boxes since he was ten.

WHAT EVERY FLORIDA PARENT NEEDS TO KNOW

Since online sports betting launched in Florida, calls to the state's problem gambling help line surged. Among Floridians seeking help for online sports betting, roughly 97% are male and 64% are under 30. Betting apps are engineered with the same variable-reward mechanics as slot machines and social media feeds — and they live on the same phone your son uses for homework.

Warning Signs

Obsessive tracking of scores, spreads, or odds
Money problems that don't add up; borrowing from friends
Selling belongings, or unexplained cash swings
Mood tied directly to game outcomes
Secrecy about phone use during games
Heavy spending on in-game currency or loot boxes

What to do

› Check payment apps: Venmo, Cash App, PayPal for patterns.

› Turn off in-app purchases and require approval on all devices.

› Name loot boxes for what they are: gambling with a cartoon skin.

› Watch a game together and narrate the ads out loud. › Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling: 888-ADMIT-IT

› Debt drives secrecy. Make it safe to tell you the number.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"Do any of your friends bet on games? Not asking to get anyone in trouble — I'm actually asking because I want to know how normal it feels to you guys now."

"If you ever end up owing money to someone — for anything — you tell me the real number. I will not blow up. We'll deal with it. The only thing that makes it worse is you carrying it by yourself."

Danger Six: Sports Betting, Loot Boxes & the Boy Crisis Nobody's Naming

Danger Seven: The Isolation Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

This is the danger underneath the other six. A connected kid can survive almost anything on this list. An isolated kid is vulnerable to all of it. And isolation is the easiest one to miss — because your child is in their room, quiet, seemingly fine, on a device, talking to hundreds of people and close to none.

THE CHANGE NOBODY VOTED FOR

Among Americans aged 15–24, time spent in person with friends declined roughly 70% between 2003 and 2020. The U.S. Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health crisis, citing research that chronic isolation carries mortality risk comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. Meanwhile, the single most reliable protective factor for a struggling child remains one steady, trusted adult who consistently shows up.

Warning Signs

No one comes over. No one calls. No plans on weekends.
Hundreds of online "friends," zero in-person ones
Dropped every activity and replaced it with nothing
Sleep schedule drifting later and later
Family meals skipped; door always closed
"I'm fine" delivered flatly, on repeat

What to do

› Phones out of bedrooms overnight. Highest-leverage change available.

› Protect one non-negotiable family meal per week.

› Drive them and their friends places. Cars produce real conversations.

› Get them into one in-person thing — a team, a job, a youth group, a band.

› Recruit one other trusted adult: coach, uncle, youth pastor, neighbor.

› Say yes to hosting. Feed other people's teenagers.

SAY THIS TONIGHT

"Who's your person right now? Like if something really good or really bad happened at 10pm on a Tuesday — who would you text first?"

"If the honest answer is 'nobody' — that's not a failure. That's just information. And that's something we can work on together, starting this week."

Danger Seven: The Isolation Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

Frequently asked questions

DOWNLOAD GUIDE HERE

NAVIGATION

CONTACT

37 N Orange Ave, Orlando, FL

32801 Suite 202

info@breaking-thru.org

Powered by Breaking Thru

Powered by Breaking Thru

7 dangers Florida is facing
& how they target your kids

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

Danger Three: Self-Harm & the Silence Around It

Danger Three: Self-Harm & the Silence Around It

Danger Two: Online Abuse & the 24-Hour Locker Room

Danger Two: Online Abuse & the 24-Hour Locker Room

Danger Four: One Pill. Fake Vapes. High- Potency THC.

Danger Four: One Pill. Fake Vapes. High- Potency THC.

Danger Five: The AI "Friend" in Your Child's Pocket

Danger Five: The AI "Friend" in Your Child's Pocket

Danger Six: Sports Betting, Loot Boxes & the Boy Crisis Nobody's Naming

Danger Six: Sports Betting, Loot Boxes & the Boy Crisis Nobody's Naming

Danger Seven: The Isolation Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

Danger Seven: The Isolation Crisis Hiding in Plain Sight

Frequently asked questions

What is this campaign?

Why seven dangers?

Is this meant to scare parents?

What makes the guide different?

Is Breaking Thru a clinic?

How can a school, church, employer, or community group help?

How do I get the guide?

7 dangers Florida is facing & how they target your kids

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

Danger One: Sextortion & Cyber Predators

Frequently asked questions

What is this campaign?

Why seven dangers?

Is this meant to scare parents?

What makes the guide different?

Is Breaking Thru a clinic?

How can a school, church, employer, or community group help?

How do I get the guide?

7 dangers Florida is facing
& how they target your kids