"Stranger Danger" Lessons Alone Don't Protect Children

Stranger Danger Lessons Alone Don't Protect Children.  So What are Parents Supposed to Do?  

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Prevent Child Abduction PART I "Stranger Danger" Fails

Teaching Skills, Instilling Confidence Best Ways to Prevent Child Abduction

Part ONE

"Stranger danger" lessons alone don't protect children - study finds

Monday, October 04, 2004

ROCHESTER, Minn. - Parents and pediatricians could be doing more to prevent child abductions, says a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Daniel Broughton, M.D., a pediatrician at Mayo Clinic and former director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children agrees.

"Rather than teaching children to fear strangers, which is at best, woefully inadequate, we need to use positive messages," says Dr. Broughton. "Children need to learn skills and confidence, not fear and avoidance."

Dr. Broughton is one of the authors of the newly published American Academy of Pediatrics Clinical Report entitled, "The Pediatrician's Role in the Prevention of Missing Children." Published in the October issue of Pediatrics, the report offers prevention strategies for pediatricians to share with families.

Dr. Broughton says, too often, emphasis is placed on stranger danger. However, most children reported missing are runaways or were taken by noncustodial parents. Only a small number of children are victims of classic kidnappings, though many are abducted for shorter periods and released. Most people who perpetrate these crimes on children are not strangers in the eye and mind of the child.

"It could be a neighbor, a familiar face in the child's daily routine, or someone the child's parents know well enough to greet," says Dr. Broughton.

According to research conducted by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, in cases of long-term kidnapping in which the child was found alive, 85 percent of the victims did not consider the kidnapper to be a stranger. In at least 65 percent of the cases in which a child was found dead and the perpetrator identified, it was clear that the child would not have considered the person a stranger.

"Those statistics are powerful reasons to teach children a different approach than "don't talk to strangers," says Dr. Broughton. "The stranger danger message frightens them without any proven benefit." 

Child safety doesn't happen by accident.

You need to empower your children with "Powerful knowledge, skills&experiences;" to help them learn that they do have the ability to protect themselves and stay safe. Child safety is very much about Empowerment, it is imperative that you find ways to build your child's confidence. Find programs and activities that are designed to build their confidence and self-esteem everyday.

One of the best choices for building a child's confidence and self-esteem is professional martial arts training. These programs are designed to help a child learn and develop special important, life saving self-defense skills while at the same time building their confidence and self-esteem. Consider enrolling your child today in one of these programs as one step to keeping your child safe everyday no matter where they are or what they are doing.
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John Nottingham, 6th Dan Master Black Belt, Family Protection Specialist, Bodyguard Trainer
http://ScottsdaleKarate.com http://USA-MartialArts.com

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Keywords: protect kids stranger danger fails