As anyone who reads my blog knows, child abductions are a serious problem, and it seems to be growing. The very worst that can happens is exemplified in the Jessica Ridgeway story. A ten-year old girl The good news is that it is preventable. Along that line, I found an article that has some very helpful hints."The National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) says numbers show that 43% of the attempted-abduction incidents involved children between the ages of 10 and 14 years old.
The center found that keeping children out of harms way would require educating them about safety and not through what experts are now calling an "outdated and misleading message", known as the stranger danger talk."
This is important, as most of us were raised on "stranger danger".
From the NCMEC website, "The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children does not ascribe to the "stranger-danger" message. We have learned that children do not have the same understanding of who a stranger is as an adult might; therefore, it is a difficult concept for the child to grasp. It is much more beneficial to children to help them build the confidence and self-esteem they need to stay as safe as possible in any potentially dangerous situation they encounter rather than teaching them to be "on the look out" for a particular type of person. The "stranger-danger" message is not effective and, based on what we know about those who harm children, danger to children is greater from someone they or their family knows than from a "stranger.""
The NCMEC website has bountiful information for parents, educators, and anyone else interested in keeping children safe. It is needed, it is free, and all it takes is some time to make your children safe.
Invest the time.
Safe Havens, International
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