Children’s Safety and Security

The Problem: 50,000 children are reported missing every year. One in four children fall victim to inappropriate touching. 85 percent of predators are known to the victim. Thinking that "it won’t happen to my kids" or "I’m pretty aware of what goes on" is exactly what pedophiles hope you think. Your children might be sleeping in their beds while you’re in the basement and someone could walk right in and take them. The fact is that you can’t be everywhere at once. The Solution: You need a common-sense approach to protecting your children from abduction and sexual abuse. Develop your children’s ability to take care of themselves as a natural part of their behavior. Teach them to be responsible for their own well-being at all times. We provide you with the fundamentals of safety and the strategies for security to help you make smarter time, money and life-saving decisions. You Learn How To:

• Raise children to be responsible for their security.
• Teach them in ways they like to learn.
• Determine an age to start learning security.
• Encourage them to speak up and express themselves.
• Help them develop and trust their instincts.
• Play games that tap into their observations.
• Teach them to differentiate between good and bad touches.
• Help them identify a predator and learn the way they trap children.
• Create a secure environment for your child to grow in.

10 Tips to Prevent Child Abductions and Molestation by Robert L Siciliano © 2010 Unfortunately 50,000 children are reported missing every year. Additionally, 1 in 4 children fall victim to inappropriate touching. Eighty five percent of the predators are known to the victim. Thinking that "it won't happen to my kids" or "I'm pretty aware of what goes on…" is exactly what pedophiles hope you think. They might be sleeping in their bed while you're in the basement and someone could walk right in and take them. The fact is that you can't be everywhere at once.

1. Scare Tactics: don't work. You don't teach a kid to swim by telling him how not to drown. Give them fundamental strategies that make them aware of life's hazards and how to effectively avoid dangerous situations.
2. Raise Responsibly: teach them to be in control of their lives early on. Your children are ultimately responsible for their own safety. By allowing them to grow on their own without smothering them, they can make more effective decisions.
3. Never too Young: at ages 3-5 they are able to place judgment, think for themselves and recognize right from wrong. By making them aware of the following tips they will have tools they can use to identify predators.
4. Bad Touching: Children understand touch. Certain people touch in certain ways. Mom and Dad give kisses and hugs, and they become used to it. It would feel uncomfortable for the next-door neighbor to do the same.
5. Yes and No: during the terrible twos yes and no are the two most common words. This is the age when they are learning their likes and dislikes; this is also prime time to allow them to speak up and learn how to do so. Never oppress a child's need to communicate feelings.
6. Instincts: this is when we start to realize our intuition, and unfortunately also when society starts to suppress this feeling and discount it. Allow instincts to flourish. Encourage them to pay attention to their inner voice. When a child is allowed to speak up and encouraged to follow their instincts, they can stop abuse before it begins.
7. Play Games: take them on a journey of 'What If'. By playing ‘What If’, you can get an idea of their thought process and how they view the world. Start slow, with simple questions similar to “What if you couldn't find mommy in the supermarket, what would you do?” Work your way into, “What if someone you know asked you to take a walk and mommy didn't know about it?” This line of questioning allows them to think for themselves and allows you to feed them the appropriate responses. Just don't scare them.
8. Strangers: generalize, never color code. Most kids think a stranger is a tall guy in a black hooded trench coat. When explaining 'who's when's and where's', be careful not to describe specific locations or times of day. This could make them afraid of the dark or feel overly safe during the day, and keep their guard down. Explain in a variety of demographics, keep it light and interesting.
9. Keep an Eye Out: family members statistically are responsible for up to 20% of abuse cases, father / daughter abuse up to 5%. Stepfathers are more likely than fathers to abuse children, hold influential positions with and are trusted by the mother. Children who are abused are more likely to abuse other children. Entrusted friends or civic oriented authority figures who coach sports, religious leaders or camp-type counselors also have access to children in isolated situations.
10. Child Lures: bribery, friendship, distress and trust are the means of luring children. Predators test the children to see how far they can push the child. The pedophile takes their time and it doesn't happen all in one day. They use a number of techniques to gain trust, and prey on the child's good nature when the child offers resistance. They will say things similar to, "Don't you like me?" or "I thought we were friends" to make the child feel responsible for the predator's feelings.

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