Advice From Marc Klass – What Every Parent Needs To Know About Child Abductions

Unfortunately, we read almost every day in the news about a child being abducted or an abduction attempt. Most recently a 24-year-old man was arrested in Riverside, California after attempting to lure a 12-year-old girl into his car. After the girl described the man, authorities quickly recognized similarities in another case of attempted abduction from last January, in which a girl was abducted and raped. Fortunately the man is now behind bars.

I recently had Marc Klaas, founder of KlaasKids.org on my radio show. Marc is the father of Polly Klaas, the 12 year-old girl who, in 1993 was abducted from her own bedroom at knife point and brutally raped and murdered. Marc went on to become a leading child safety advocate and offered my listeners some great advice.

Don’t live in denial – Marc said that one of the greatest issues is parents’ beliefs that “bad things don’t happen in their neighborhoods.” The reality is that every 40 seconds in this country, a child is reported missing. A good majority of those are abductions by family members, occurring approximately 220,000 per year. But there are also a good number of abductions by strangers.

Start the conversation - Talk to your child about safety but don’t make it a “stranger danger” conversation as many abductions and assaults occur with an acquaintance. It doesn’t need to be a fear-based conversation, but one that will teach them about making good choices that don’t compromise their safety.

• Always check in with a parent before going anywhere with anyone

• If outside, always be with at least one other person

• Teach them to trust their feelings – if something feels wrong it probably is

• Separate themselves from whatever’s making them feel bad

• If they feel threatened in any way they can go to almost any stranger for help. The vast majority would never hurt a child.

Establish rules for school – While many kids ride the bus to school, a large percentage walk. Marc offered a few tips to keep it safe:

• Walk the neighborhood with your child and show them the safest route. Also point out areas to avoid such as isolated streets, heavily wooded areas and dark alleys.

• Teach them to never walk alone, always with a friend.

• Give them a cell phone in case of emergencies.

• Establish a safe house along the route that they know they can go to if they feel unsafe.
 

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