How many times have you seen a child being dragged along by the mother or father crying and hysterically screaming that they do not want to go or I do not want to…? How many of you give it a second thought? How many times have you thought to yourself if that was my child I would…..? The point is that most people have become insensitive to children crying and refusing to go somewhere! Yet, this scenario could possibly be an abduction attempt. So how could a child survive a kid napping, since a child has no natural instincts that would keep him/her from going or escaping from a stranger? In our Kung Fu Child Development Program we teach all of our students five years old and above that if they are ever encountered by a stranger to yell out this is not my mom/dad, this is a stranger, as loud as they can. If a child is not educated in Stranger Danger, a child will go where they believe that there is a puppy, a toy or candy, which is what motivates a child. The perverted predator knows this and will use it to abduct an innocent child.
I can still remember when I was in elementary school in the sixties the drills that prepared us for a nuclear attack. When we heard the alarm, we would have to hide under our desk and cover our heads with our hands. For those younger readers that have no idea of what I’m talking about, I’m sure that you can relate to a similar practice, the fire drill. As you might know by now the bomb was never dropped on us and the odds of a school kid being trapped in a fire are no greater than the odds of being abducted. How many times have you practice an abduction drill with your children?
In our Kung Fu Kids class Stranger Danger drills are as common as kicking and punching. Our instructors are constantly drilling our students with phrases such as: what’s a stranger? The students will chant back: a person that you do not know sir! Do you talk to strangers? No Sir! Through role playing and lectures on Stranger Danger we teach our students how to recognize a stranger who they are and how to avoid them. As a former Law Enforcement Officer, certified National Security Alliance Child Safe Network instructor and Martial Arts Educator I am amazed to see how many children would have been prime candidates for abduction. The most important thing that you can teach your child is to say no to an adult. To trust a child to his/her own instincts would be dangerous. So this year before the holidays empower them by teaching them to say no and practice with them Stranger Danger Drills.