Preventing Child Abductions
Preventing Child Abductions Rajah Maples A kidnapping is one of a parent's worst nightmares. But does the age-old advice to prevent your child from being abducted work? National experts say no. For this KHQA Safe Family Crime Report, we talked with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about the best new ways to protect *your* child. For years, parents have been telling their children not to talk to strangers. But now experts say that message not only is ineffective, but it also can put your child in even *more* danger during emergencies. Nancy McBride says kids don't understand who a stranger is or what a stranger is. Parents don't practice what they teach their kids. They're talking to people they don't know all the time. McBride says "stranger danger" messages teach children *not* to accept help from trustworthy adults when needed. Plus, it's not the strangers who pose the greatest threat. It's people your child knows. She says supervision, paying attention to kids and what's going on their lives and communicating with them are key. She also says parents should teach their kids to RUN if someone comes up to them in a vehicle. It's a good idea to know where sex offenders might live and work in your community, but McBride says it's even *more* important to do reference or background checks on all of the adults who come into contact with your child. For more information about how to prevent child abductions in your community, you can log on to missing kids dot com. John Walsh, host of "America's Most Wanted" and Julie Clark, creator of "Baby Einstein", also have created a DVD called, "Stranger Safety". It's designed to give children simple, fun and interesting ways to discuss difficult topics such as child abductions. http://www.khqa.com/news/headlines/1970522.html