Child Safety and Protection

The following facts are alarming but "A child's first teacher is their parent" and the following strategies and tips are very important to protect our children and keep them safe!

FACT: 1 in 4 children are molested before age 18, and 90% are known by the family or are family members.

FBI STATISTIC: 44% of abducted children are dead in one hour. 75% are dead in 3 hours.

FACT: ID cards, fingerprints, DNA kits, the Amber Alert, and tracking devices do nothing what-so-ever to prevent children from becoming missing.

FACT: Child safety and protection education goes beyond "Stranger Danger" and ID bracelets used in most education programs and schools. It is a personal and family matter.

FACT: Responsible parents who try hard to raise well-behaved children can actually set them up for exploitation. Their value system of good kids can make them ideal victims.

FACT: A child's first teacher is their parent.

I remember reading that last fact above when my daughter was born and taking that to heart. Teaching her the basics was easy and fun. She grew to a toddler, than to a preschooler very quickly and I soon realized the outside world was having more of an influence on her as I enrolled her in preschool, hired babysitters and took her to Sunday School.

I remember hearing news reports about child abductions and child abuse but thought it could never happen to my daughter. After all I was extra careful about who she was with and I was with her the rest of the time to keep her safe and protected. I didn't know I was leaving out the most important part of her education by not teaching her how to protect herself from harm when I wasn't with her and the reality of how a child predator lures parents and children into trusting them every day.

I have since become aware of how clever child molesters and predators are. All age groups are targeted by child predators. Can you think of any job more important than protecting and saving our children? I guess not, because you care enough to read this article.

Respect your elders. If an adult tells you to do something, do it! One youngster said his molester constantly reminded him, "I'm the grown-up and you're the kid. You better do what I say." According to a 7 year old, who was molested by a family member, she thought because her molester was an adult, he could not have been wrong. Later she decided, "I must have been very bad and this was my punishment." It is essential that parents teach their children to respect and obey authority, but do your children know about the misuse of authority?

Have you discussed with your child righteous indignation? Your child should know that if an adult (teacher, relative, coach) suggests something wrong-by touching them sexually or showing them pornographic pictures-they have your permission to say emphatically "No!" and it is okay to scream or run away if the adult persists. Don't assume they will know that to do in this kind of situation. Tell them. Role playing works very well with young children to help them understand what you are talking about or you can use puppets.

Don't be a tattletale. This is a value used by molesters. A molesting adult will often use physical or psychological threats to increase a child's reluctance to tell. Could your child be victimized because of a good kid's code of honor? "I promised I wouldn't tell!" A parent needs to sit their child down and say, "if anybody ever touches you and makes you uncomfortable -tell me. I don't care who it is-Daddy, Uncle, Grandpa, a neighbor, you tell me. We will make sure it doesn't happen again." It's a tough thing for any parent to say, but it has to be said. Should a child start to object to every good-bye kiss from a relative, find out why and remember a child has a right to say no to a kiss.

For more important information for safeguarding your child from sexual predators go to Annie Samuels' Child Safety Tips blog at http://child-safety-protection.blogspot.com/ and let me know what you think.