Missing Kids? – Awareness is Critical to Child Safety! (written for Child Education)
Every single day greater than 2100 children are officially reported missing. The real number may be closer to 3500! A missing kid can mean a lot of things. For most the term creates images of a child abduction... a child dragged into a car by a predator. Fortunately that reality is fairly rare, although even extremely rare is unacceptable. However the vast majority of missing children do not fall into this group. About 150 kids per day are snatched by a parent, which incidentally is not nearly as “good” as it sounds. These children are not taken for their well-being. These missing kids are taken as tools of revenge! They are pawns in ugly divorce where hurting the other spouse is the goal. Not knowing where your children are is certainly a painful situation for the parent and family left searching and the damage to the child is nothing short of dromatic. In nearly all cases these missing kids don't go to school, obtain medical attention, or develop socially, and are lied to regarding family and friends. Parental abductions cause mental issues that can impact a child's life on so many levels. Trust is difficult to find after a parent lies to you. Many times the child abducted by a parent is told the other parent was killed. So when you hear about parental abductions understand the reality that exists for the child.
Over 1000 kids each and every day are reported missing and labeled as runaways! These kids pose a unique situation as most are trying not to be found for some reason or another. Two-thirds are sexually solicited within the first 48 hours on the street. A large number end up becoming victims of human trafficking, forced into lives of prostitution.
Raising awareness of the unreal numbers of missing and victimized children is the mission of Child Rescue Network(CRN). CRN is working to dramatically lower the number of children being sexually abused and exploited through a variety of community outreach programs that teach parents and communities on the best ways to empower kids to help them recognize potentially dangerous situations and how to react should the need arise. Find out more at www.ChildRescueNetwork.org.
