How to Protect Your Child From Kidnappers

Be with Buddy

Advice children to always bring a buddy along when going to places such as a public bathroom or when walking home from school. It is even better to be with more than one friend, especially when going out by themselves to place such as the mall or the park. Remind them that there is safety in numbers. 

Run, Yell and Tell

Diana Jones, proponent of the stranger-danger program called Run, Yell and Tell, advises parents that it is good to teach children as early as the age of four about what to do when being attacked by a stranger. She advocates the method of running as the first step, then making noise, and then finding someone to tell the incident to. It is a good idea, according to her, to point to your children some "safety havens"  along routes usually taken so they know where to seek help-a police station, fire station, and retail shops. It's also must to have your child keep money in his pockets at all times which will solely be used for telephone calls in case of an emergency. 

Somebody is Watching

Reminding yourself  constantly that there might be a pedophile lurking in the corner will force you to keep your guard up the whole time you are in these places. Always remember that kidnappers, child molesters and their ilk know exactly where to find their victims. These places are the ones frequented most by families: shopping centers, playgrounds, amusement parks, fair and even school premises. Next, keep in mind that some predators take their time before attacking. They would go through deliberate lengths NOT to be the person parents tell their children to stay away from. 

Stranger is Everywhere

An easily-terrified child should not be made even more wary of the world, while precocious and outgoing children should constantly be reminded to be careful with people they don't know, whether food or bad. The word "stranger" needs to be redefined so that both parents and children can be reoriented   as to who should be inappropriately considered as such.The challenge here is that it is hard to tell who can be trusted. The moss common off-hand definition of "stranger" given to children is that these are people that they do not know. It would be helpful to add that even nice-looking people can turn out to be bad. Instead of trying to cover all possible stereotypes and breaking them up for your child, try to focus on tailoring your explanation to the personality of your child. But out at the grocery store or at the petrol station, kids' see their parents talk to strangers at all time. This is especially confusing to little children and they will probably wonder why it's okay for parents talk to people they don't know but it's not okay for kids. Try clearing this out by saying there are good people and bad people out there, then follow up by explaining that parents can usually tell the good ones from from the bad ones. 

 Keep the Secret

Nurture our children about the "safe" and "unsafe" meaning. It's okay to keep a secret about a birthday present, but definitely not about an online friends, both young ones and especially the adults. Start nurturing an open relationship with your children from a very young age. From here, they will learn to feel comfortable talking to you about almost anything because they feel confident and secure. Make them feel that you want to be involved in their social lives but restrain yourself from smothering them too much, or else they will hold back and this will just leave you in the dark about the relationships they have outside the home. 

Make Room for Mistakes

Don't expect your kids to remember every single precaution you outline for them as this is an impossible task even for a grown-up. If your child forgets that she was not supposed to accept a ride from anyone other than you without your permission, let it be a learning experience rather than a reason for punishment. Children a more likely to keep things to themselves when they know that they will be in trouble for something they did, no matter how innocent it was on their part.

This is by no means a comprehensive list of how to keep children safe from predators, It is futile to try and cover all possible scenarios because there is just no where to do that without losing one's head. Even if a parent does succeed in doing so, it will probably be too frightening for the poor child that he would not even dare go out at all. The important thing is that parents should be aware of new and more difficult challenge to the safety of children and that children in turn should be equipped with enough know-how to keep themselves away from harm.