There are tons of great, fun, easy ways to incorporate body safety topics into your everyday conversations with your child, two of which I cover below: Using Stories Children love stories (mostly they love the attention you pay them when you’re reading to them). Here’s a short list to give you an idea of what …
How to Protect Your Child from Abduction Attempts
There’s a LOT you can do to keep your child safe from kidnappers. Here are some practical things you can teach him to lessen the chance that he’ll be approached by a potential kidnapper: Be clear with your child’s school or daycare that no one is allowed to pick him up without your permission. Provide …
Ploys Kidnappers Use to Lure Children
Predators can be majorly slick characters, although many of those who commit crimes of opportunity (meaning they jump at the chance to kidnap a child because the opportunity presents itself) are just fumbling along. In 34 percent of abduction attempts, the offender’s use force to kidnap their victims, including physical force, or use a weapon …
What to Teach Your Child about Digital Dangers
The “www” in the World Wide Web could just as easily stand for “wild, wild west!” It’s a whole different game online and predators run amok with no oversight and often no consequences. Here are some tips to teach your child to help him be savvier when he’s online: Don’t trust anyone—and I mean N-E-1 …
Special Lures Predators Use Online
Criminals can be so crafty, and sexual predators are the most creative of all. They’ve always been adept at grooming children, but the online world offers entirely new methods to lure kids into giving them what they want. For example, in one famous case involving an international child pornography ring that was ultimately busted, the …
How Kids Can Respond to Bullies
The bullying cycle usually begins with verbal harassment before escalating to more serious behavior. Your child’s reaction to the bully’s very first attempt may determine whether she goes from a one-time target to a long-term victim. The most common advice bullied kids receive from well-meaning parents is to just “ignore it and they’ll go away.” …
The Call is Coming from Inside the House! When the Abuser is Your Partner
For many parents, learning their child has been sexually molested or assaulted is about as bad as it can get. But it can get worse still if the abuser is someone the parent is in an intimate relationship with. Children who live with their married biological parents experience the lowest rates of abuse and neglect, …
Playing the ‘Stranger Adventure’ Game
You can teach your kid how to differentiate between safe and unsafe people by playing the “Stranger Adventure” game. In this game, which you can play with your child anytime, anywhere, you simply observe the people around you and talk about them. This isn’t about being catty or making snarky comments about people; it’s about …
The 99.999+ Percent
99.999+ percent of the world is made up of people your child doesn’t know, and nearly every one of those gazillion people pose absolutely no threat to your child. Teaching her that strangers are not to be trusted can cause her unnecessary fear and anxiety when she encounters people she hasn’t met before. Kids often …
Predator Repellant
The number one thing predators don’t want is to get caught. This is their biggest fear. Below is a list of things your child can do to repel predators. Predators are likely to be put off when your child: Walks confidently and with purpose. Taking up as much space as possible, holding her chin up, …