As a grownup, we realize not all strangers are bad people, child abductors, or child predators. After all, we are strangers to some oneís child and we are not a bad person or a child predator. Yet, children are not capable of deciding who is a good grownup or stranger and who is not a good grownup or stranger. This is why as parentís we need to teach our children a safety plan on how to respond in certain situations, especially when it involves dealing with a stranger who is approaching our child.
Teach a child when a stranger approaches the child who is alone, the child should never talk with the stranger. This eliminates the opportunity for the stranger to use a lure. A lure is something that strangers use to distract a child or to attract a child with the promise of a reward. Lures are lies to entice a child to go with the stranger. A child should be taught to turn away and run in the opposite direction the stranger approached from. Running away from a stranger without responding to him or her will catch the stranger off guard, and does not give the stranger an opportunity to grab the child as he or she runs past the person.
If a stranger approaches a child from a car, and is asking for directions, teach children this is a red warning flag. Initially a child may think it is cool that an adult wants a childís help, yet the truth is adults should only ask adults for help. An adult asking a child for help is another form of a lure. The lure is used to get a child close enough to the car to pull the child into the car, abducting the child. When a person in a car asks a child a question, teach the child not to answer, turning quickly in the opposite direction the car faces, and running like the wind. By teaching a child to run in the opposite direction the car faces, the child is given a valuable head start in getting away from the car, as the car will have to turn around in order to follow the child, and that takes time.
As parents, we try to teach children to take care of and value their belongings, often becoming disappointed when important or expensive items like schoolbooks, game boys, cell phones, or computers are lost or broken. What we need to teach them before school starts is that if a situation arises and they are in fear of their personal safety, they need to drop everything, including book bags, and run like the wind to a safe place. A safe place would be to find the nearest home or person for help. Children need to understand by dropping their backpack full of heavy books they can run faster, and get away from danger easier. Be sure the child knows that he or she will not get in trouble for dropping everything, and that the safety of the child is more valuable than any backpack full of heavy school books.
Children are priceless. By teaching a child to drop everything and to run like the wind to come home safely no matter what it takes needs to be ingrained in their brains from an early age. Children abducted by strangers are in imminent danger and once a child is pulled into a vehicle it is highly unlikely the abducted child will be rescued alive. This is why it is so important to teach children to run fast in the opposite direction and to drop anything that he or she is carrying that may slow them down. Remember lures are lies used by strangers in order to lure a child closer so the child can be grabbed physically and taken. When a child runs away before an adult can try and lure them closer the child gets a valuable head start in escaping danger.