What you need to Know about Safety for Children
When it comes to the keeping kids safe we must change the way do things. For many years we've been teaching our kids "Don't talk to strangers". Child Rescue Network believes that Stranger Danger is absolutely, without a doubt, the worst program ever created to help protect children. The idea is not only flawed, it is actually detrimental to a child's well-being. Teaching your children to be terrified of everybody they don't know can cause psychological issues that can have a long lasting negative effect on future relationships and more. Not only is it a bad idea, Stranger Danger isn't even accurate! The sad truth of the matter is that 90% of sexually exploited children are abused by someone they know! In addition, 68% of the time it is someone in the family!
Instead of scaring our kids let's empower them! Parents should teach their kids how to recognize potentially dangerous situations and institute specific action plans on how to react if the need ever arises. Fear is simply not knowing what to do... we can teach our kids what to do. Empowering kids builds confidence. Building confidence in your children will go a long way towards protecting them from the potential dangers of sexual predators and so much more.
Child Rescue Network safety programs introduce specific action plans parents can teach kids regarding certain potentially dangerous scenarios. For instance, imagine you and your child walking through a fair or festival and suddenly you don't see your child. This is absolutely a potentially dangerous situation. However if your family has an established plan for such a predicament the chance of it escalating is minimal. CRN teaches that in such a case the child should stop, stay put, and never go anywhere with anyone regardless of what they say or do! You, as a parent, simply retrace your steps and your child should be fairly easy to find. Plus by providing your child with an action plan she doesn't have to be afraid as she knows just what to do. If someone wants to help her, she doesn't have to make the impossible decision of determining if the individual is a good person or not... it doesn't matter. Your child can simply say, "I need to remain here for mommy to come get me, can you wait with me?" Someone who truly wants to help will say sure and a potential predator will probably go away. Take that a step further and tell your child that if someone actually tries to force her to go with them, she should scream "This is not my daddy, help!" That cry for help will bring about a quick intervention from other people nearby who may otherwise misinterpret a child who is simply crying or screaming.
Find more safety tips here at www.ChildRecueNetwork.org
Child Education
