Top 10 Abduction Prevention Tips
Friends, did you know? Per a recent Department of Justice report: 797,500 kids under the age of 18 were reported missing in a one-year period, which included runaways, kids who went missing for a few hours, or who were late for custody drop-offs, etc.
; 203,900 of those were victims of family abductions; 58,200 of them were victims of nonfamily abductions by someone who was known at least partially by the child; 115 kids were victims of "stereotypical" abductions by a complete stranger.
I cited these numbers not to downplay abductions in any way.
My heart truly goes out to victims and their families for having to live through such a nightmare.
However, these statistics helped clarify the reality of child abduction: "Stereotypical" abductions don't happen as often as I feared.
In Our House Regardless of the media's often sensationalized reporting, child abduction is still a very legitimate and open concern in our house.
Although we closely supervise our young kids, my wife and I began addressing abduction periodically with my son when he turned 4.
In a nutshell, here is how we discuss abduction with my son: Remind him that, although it happens rarely, sometimes kids get taken away by strangers; Go over his ground rules for safety and why they are so important; Talk about and practice what he should do if he ever feels threatened; Quiz him on his parents' full names and his complete address; Explain that we will never send a stranger to pick him up at preschool; Assure him that it is our job as parents to protect him and his sister, and that he can tell us anything...
we won't get upset with him; Encourage him to come to us with any questions or fears, no matter what.
Top-10 Prevention Tips The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides excellent resources to help us prevent abduction and harm.
Here is a very general synopsis of their tips...
Take a friend when going places and stay with the group; Take appropriate steps if approached or followed; It's more important to escape a threat than to be polite; Talk openly to you kids about safety and encourage communication; Practice basic-safety skills; Be involved in your kids' activities; Never leave kids unattended in cars, running or not; Know where your children are and with whom; Know your childcare providers, friends, neighbors, etc.
; Remember you are your best resource; If you'd like some suggestions on how to start the conversation with your kids, or how to create "teachable moments", I highly recommend checking out the NCMEC's Take 25 initiative.
OPSEC Operational Security, or "OPSEC", was originally a military term which describes the process of protecting little pieces of data that could be grouped together to provide a bigger picture.
OPSEC can be applied to your kids' safety, too, because their names on backpacks, jackets or lunch boxes could easily become a conversation starter for anyone who may be targeting them.
The same goes for those stick figure "families", honor roll, school names, and vacation destinations stickers for cars, as well as personalized license plates...
all little bits of information someone could use to build false familiarity with your child.
; 203,900 of those were victims of family abductions; 58,200 of them were victims of nonfamily abductions by someone who was known at least partially by the child; 115 kids were victims of "stereotypical" abductions by a complete stranger.
I cited these numbers not to downplay abductions in any way.
My heart truly goes out to victims and their families for having to live through such a nightmare.
However, these statistics helped clarify the reality of child abduction: "Stereotypical" abductions don't happen as often as I feared.
In Our House Regardless of the media's often sensationalized reporting, child abduction is still a very legitimate and open concern in our house.
Although we closely supervise our young kids, my wife and I began addressing abduction periodically with my son when he turned 4.
In a nutshell, here is how we discuss abduction with my son: Remind him that, although it happens rarely, sometimes kids get taken away by strangers; Go over his ground rules for safety and why they are so important; Talk about and practice what he should do if he ever feels threatened; Quiz him on his parents' full names and his complete address; Explain that we will never send a stranger to pick him up at preschool; Assure him that it is our job as parents to protect him and his sister, and that he can tell us anything...
we won't get upset with him; Encourage him to come to us with any questions or fears, no matter what.
Top-10 Prevention Tips The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides excellent resources to help us prevent abduction and harm.
Here is a very general synopsis of their tips...
Take a friend when going places and stay with the group; Take appropriate steps if approached or followed; It's more important to escape a threat than to be polite; Talk openly to you kids about safety and encourage communication; Practice basic-safety skills; Be involved in your kids' activities; Never leave kids unattended in cars, running or not; Know where your children are and with whom; Know your childcare providers, friends, neighbors, etc.
; Remember you are your best resource; If you'd like some suggestions on how to start the conversation with your kids, or how to create "teachable moments", I highly recommend checking out the NCMEC's Take 25 initiative.
OPSEC Operational Security, or "OPSEC", was originally a military term which describes the process of protecting little pieces of data that could be grouped together to provide a bigger picture.
OPSEC can be applied to your kids' safety, too, because their names on backpacks, jackets or lunch boxes could easily become a conversation starter for anyone who may be targeting them.
The same goes for those stick figure "families", honor roll, school names, and vacation destinations stickers for cars, as well as personalized license plates...
all little bits of information someone could use to build false familiarity with your child.