Kidnap-Proof Your Child

Written by Joy Fisher

This article is courtesy of ParentLife magazine.

Knowledge, caution, and faith give parents the edge in keeping children safe.
Across America, parents are growing frantic as news reports describe the abductions of children. The unthinkable is reality — little girls are taken from their own bedrooms under cover of night and infants are snatched from parked vehicles. Predators coax unsuspecting children into their cars with promises or threats. In some cases the children return home unharmed, but many families are forced to hold funerals instead of reunions. Even worse, some parents never learn their child’s fate.

It's Not About Me

Protecting your child from kidnapping takes vigilant preparation. You do not have to live in paranoia or fear. There are some steps you can take to keep your child safe.

Epidemic Proportions?

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there has been no statistical increase in the number of reported child abductions. Instead, eager journalists have turned many local kidnappings into national news, giving attention to a long-standing problem. Still, parents worry. Gordon Brown, a father of two young sons, says his alarm is growing. He wants to know how to talk with his children and how to keep them safe in a scary world.

Watch and Talk

Josh Moody is a police officer serving Baltimore City, Maryland. He urges parents to talk with their children when high-profile cases hit the media.

“Your children are likely to hear about the cases anyway,” he says. “It would be better for them to be able to process the tragedies with you rather than to deal with them alone.” Moody says these conversations can be a springboard for continuing discussions about safety precautions your family can implement.

Talking with your child about the dangers of kidnapping is not appealing, but Officer Moody says that doing so might make the difference in your child’s survival.

• Teach your child his full name and home phone number. Help him learn the name of your work place and your cell phone number as well.
• Develop a password system. Situations will arise when someone else will need to pick up your child. Select a word that only you and your child know, such as “potato-head.” Tell your child that any adult sent by you to pick her up will know the word. Instruct your child never to go with an adult who does not know the password. Be sure your child’s daycare or school enforces policies restricting pickup of children by adults other than custodial parents. Ask administrators to call you for verification when your child is absent.
• Assure your child that adults should not approach a child for help or directions. Remind him never to be lured by the promise of candy, the guise of searching for a lost puppy, or the scare tactic that a family member is hurt. In any of these cases, your child does not have to respond but can run to the nearest familiar adult for assistance.
• Discuss and role-play kidnapping situations with your child. Teach her to draw attention by yelling. Show her where to kick, punch, scrape, and gouge to inflict enough pain to enable an escape.
• Practice appropriate ways to make an emergency call to you. Practice on rotary, touch-tone phones, and pay phones. Make sure your child knows how to make a long-distance call.
• Decide what your child should do if you get separated in a store. This may include staying put to wait for your return. In a mall setting, your child can find the nearest checkout counter or security office and ask the adult for help. Your child should never go to a parking lot without you. More parents are choosing to equip older children with cell phones.

Safety First

You cannot be too careful when it comes to the safety of your child. Remember, says Officer Moody, that criminals are opportunistic. They are waiting to pounce in your moment of carelessness. Never give a predator an opportunity to snatch your child.

• Never leave your child unattended in a car. Children have been abducted from vehicles in store parking lots and even their own driveways.
• Do not put your child’s name in large lettering on backpacks, clothing, lunchboxes, or bicycle license plates. This gives a predator the advantage of knowing your child’s name.
• Always lock the doors of your house.
• Supervise outside play.
• Listen to your child. If he does not want to be with a particular adult, there may be cause for investigation.
• Keep a recent photograph of your child with you. Include a written description, noting eye and hair color, height, weight, and date of birth. Indicate birthmarks or other identifying characteristics.

Joy Fisher is a freelance writer and editor in Nashville, Tennessee. She and her husband, David, are the parents of two young sons.