Teach Your Kids To Say NO
Written by Deborah J Thomas
Filed under: Administrators, K-6, News, Parents, People Involved, Predators, School Grade Level, School Safety Issues, Students
This is the advice that experts are dishing out these days. Child safety and protecting them from predators have always been high on our priorities but the incident that occurred in Woodstock, Ontario on April 8 has highlighted the importance of these points once again.
According to the news reports, Victoria Stafford disappeared after school on Wednesday. The sad thing is that the case does not seem to be going anywhere, a week after the incident. The only thing that the police have is an unclear footage captured by a security camera. It shows an unidentified woman in a white coat leading the little girl away. Aside from that, there are no solid leads as to what happened to Victoria.
Understandably, parents in the Ontario area – and beyond – are now pretty much terrified that the same thing might happen to their children. In fact, parents have expressed their concern and have said things to the effect that they cannot let their children go out without their company anymore.
Still, experts say that these incidents involving total strangers are quite rare. They point out that kidnappings are actually done by people who might be known to the children. This is due to the fact that somehow, the predator has to gain the trust of the child.
What they are saying now is that children must be taught to face incidents like these. According to Samantha Wilson, a former police officer who now works with KidProof, the number one rule is to let your children know that under no circumstance must they go with anyone without asking for permission. Whether or not the child knows the person approaching him or her, the child must still go to an adult – a parent or a teacher – and ask for permission. This is because there have been many cases wherein predators have posed as police officers, strangers in need, and so on.
My heart goes out to the family of little Victoria. I am hoping and praying, along with everyone else, that she is found soon. As most of us cannot do anything else to help her, I think that we should also take this chance to focus on the things that we can change, like taking up these issues once again with our children. While the chances of a similar case happening to you are slim, you can never really take that risk, can you?
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No doubt, it is a very important issue that all parents must address – and one that requires ongoing, open communication with their children.
The single most important thing to remember when teaching your children about stranger danger is to instill confidence, rather than fear.
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