Imagine this: a family friend, neighbor, or helpful stranger runs up to your child, tells them that their has been an emergency, and that they need to jump in the car right now to get to safety. How does your child know if this is a safe person to follow or if they are possibly nefarious? Teaching them one word can help them quickly sort it out and prevent child abduction.
Should I panic, is my child in danger???
This is important: there is no need to panic! This is not a “buy this and do this or your child will certainly be in trouble” kind of post. I just want to add a tool to your tool box; if it doesn’t fit your needs, that’s okay. This is a simple tool that most parents can use to help prevent child abduction.
What word should I teach them?
What you are looking for hear is a code word or short phrase that signifies someone is safe. This will help your child quickly establish if an adult is friendly or if they may not be telling the truth.
What the word itself doesn’t matter as much as how easy it is to remember and how hard it is to guess.
Good code words can include pet names (Rover, Spike), common sights (“red door” if your front door is red, or “pink pony” if they have a pink pony picture on their wall), or other easy to remember but hard to guess words.
If someone is asking your child to follow them or to get in a car, your child can ask for the code word. If the person doesn’t have it, they will know something may be fishy.
After you have a word in place, you can work with them to ask for the word and respond appropriately.
Why should I consider doing this to prevent child abduction?
By establishing a code word for emergencies, your child can quickly distinguish if this person is being truthful or if they should think twice. On the other side, if you are sending someone to pick up your child in the case of an emergency and are unable to let them know who is coming, you can give them the code word to make sure that your child knows they are safe to follow.
When should I consider NOT using this to prevent child abduction?
Most abductions are not conducted by strangers but by other parents or guardians. These are people who (often) should also know this code word thus making it’s use unhelpful in prevention. Click here for more information on preventing child abduction and on where to get help if a child is abducted by a parent or legal guardian. You can find more information on prevention and location of missing children here.
In conclusion
There are lots of ways to help prevent child abduction and this is one of them. There is no need to panic. If this tool works for you and your family, go ahead and use it. It’s okay if it doesn’t, I have supplied some links with more tools and information that may help you.
What does your family already do to keep your kids safe?
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