How to Help Keep Kids Safe From Abduction or Assault
Child abduction and assault is every parent's worst nightmare, but you can take steps to keep your child safe. According to the Polly Klaas Foundation, only around 100 children are abducted by strangers every year. However, abduction or assault by people familiar to your child is much more common. Teach your children self-defense skills and to trust their instincts to keep them safe from abduction or assault. As a parent, the greatest tool you can use to protect your children is education.
Instructions
Create a child safety kit. Include fingerprints, dental records, school records and current photos, including clear shots of any distinguishing features such as birthmarks. Update the kit twice a year with current photos, height and weight. Teach your child her full name, address and phone number, as well as your full name. If you are separated or divorced from her other parent, make sure she knows that parent's address and phone number as well. Monitor internet use. Keep the computer in a central location rather than in your child's room. Set passwords for younger children yourself. Check teenagers' social media profiles regularly to make sure you know all their friends. Meet all of your child's friends and their parents before allowing your child to visit their homes or go anywhere with them. Keep an updated list of the names, addresses and phone numbers of your child's friends and their parents. Enroll your child in self-defense classes. A child who knows how to protect himself can scare off predators and would-be abductors. If self-defense classes are unavailable in your area, teach your child to kick, scream and run for help if approached by a predator. Practice role playing dangerous scenarios. Make a game of planning what she would do in threatening situations -- the Polly Klass Foundation calls this "the what-if game." Ask your child what she would do if someone threatened or followed her. If she says she would get help from a police officer, ask her who could help her if a police officer wasn't available. If she says she would run into a store, ask her what she would do if she wasn't near a store. Attend counseling or mediation with your child's other parent if going through a custody dispute. According to Time Magazine, most family members who abduct children make threats first. Take these threats seriously, alerting law enforcement if necessary.