watch your kids! (today's public service announcement)
I saw yet another demonstration on this morning's news on how easy it is for someone to grab your kids.
They took 5 year old kids who had been taught by their parents not to talk to strangers, had their parent go away for a few minutes and have someone walk up and ask the kid to help them find a lost dog in nearby bushes. In every case, the kid wanders into the bushes, and the parent is subsequently shocked.
Isn't it about time parents stopped being shocked? I have seen this done by 60 minutes, Nightline, Dateline, and every other conceivable line. On a rare occasion, the kid says no. 99.9% of the time, no matter how much it has been drilled into their innocent little heads, a kid with no visible parental supervision will go look for a lost dog, and wander into bushes, trees, whatever to do that.
So what can you do? Everyone says to preach to your kids that they don't talk to strangers, don't go off with strangers, don't even look at strangers, and we all do that...and then we see this happen. Even with all that, your kid will look at you with all the concern in the world in his or her face and tell you, "But, I had to help him find his dog."
The lesson isn't that we stop preaching to our kids. The lesson is after you do that, and do it again, and do it again, don't think for a minute that your job is done. Watch your kids, or make sure they're being watched...always...everywhere. All that preaching should be nothing more than a safety net...a backstop when all else fails. It can't be your first line of defense against sick people trying to abduct your child. "But I told him not to talk to strangers" is going to sound oh so feeble when your kid is missing for a second of many days.
They took 5 year old kids who had been taught by their parents not to talk to strangers, had their parent go away for a few minutes and have someone walk up and ask the kid to help them find a lost dog in nearby bushes. In every case, the kid wanders into the bushes, and the parent is subsequently shocked.
Isn't it about time parents stopped being shocked? I have seen this done by 60 minutes, Nightline, Dateline, and every other conceivable line. On a rare occasion, the kid says no. 99.9% of the time, no matter how much it has been drilled into their innocent little heads, a kid with no visible parental supervision will go look for a lost dog, and wander into bushes, trees, whatever to do that.
So what can you do? Everyone says to preach to your kids that they don't talk to strangers, don't go off with strangers, don't even look at strangers, and we all do that...and then we see this happen. Even with all that, your kid will look at you with all the concern in the world in his or her face and tell you, "But, I had to help him find his dog."
The lesson isn't that we stop preaching to our kids. The lesson is after you do that, and do it again, and do it again, don't think for a minute that your job is done. Watch your kids, or make sure they're being watched...always...everywhere. All that preaching should be nothing more than a safety net...a backstop when all else fails. It can't be your first line of defense against sick people trying to abduct your child. "But I told him not to talk to strangers" is going to sound oh so feeble when your kid is missing for a second of many days.
John put this out here at 8:14 AM
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