We want to keep our children safe and protected from all the bad things in the world.
Our minds go wild with the possibilities from our kids first time down the slide by themselves to the first time they walk to a friend’s house unassisted.
No one likes to think of worst-case scenarios, but planning for it, while hoping for the best, may prove to save your child’s life.
A man in Arizona tried to kidnap a little girl near the park last week, but was unprepared for her response, causing him to flee the scene.
Fox News reported:
“An 11-year-old Arizona girl thwarted a possible kidnapping last week after she demanded a stranger who told her to get into a white SUV to give her a “code word.”
The unidentified girl and a friend were walking near a park in North Pecan Creek just before 4 p.m. Wednesday when a man driving a white SUV, described as a Ford Explorer-like vehicle, pulled up next to them, Pinal County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.”
This is a parent’s nightmare, to have a man, that you can only assume had ill intent, try to take your little girl away from you.
As with many kidnappings, the man told the girl her brother was in a serious car accident, according to Fox News, and that she would have to come with him.
Before jumping into a vehicle with a total stranger, the girl asked the man for the “code word.”
Since this man was a fraud, he did not know anything about a code word, which tipped the girl off that he was dangerous, and he fled.
Brenda James, the smart little girl’s mother said, ““We came up with a code word, and this one time, it saved my daughter’s life,” reports Fox10 Phoenix. “She told me that a guy tried to take her.”
Just like most parents, James didn’t think her daughter would ever have to implement the code word, but she was wrong.
James said to Fox10,
“I never thought it would be used, but I’m proud of her for remembering that and knowing to use that.”
The SUV that the attempted kidnapper was driving was seen by other children nearby to be circling the park prior to speaking with the young girl.
In order not to be identified, the dangerous man had his face covered while talking, which is alarming.
Not every child would have had a fail safe in place like a code word, leaving Pinal County Sheriff Lamb praising the young girl’s parents for their lesson on “stranger danger”, reports Fox News.
Lamb added, “We hope by putting this out, it will encourage parents to have that conversation and create a plan with their children, so they know what to do if they are in that situation.”
Although, the man had most of his face covered, it was deduced that he was in his 40’s with a short beard.
Sadly, situations like this one are frequent, and many young girls and boys all over the nation are not able to return home because of the horrendous act of kidnapping.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that almost 800,000 children are reported missing every year, with 203,000 of those cases being a kidnapping by a family member.
The statistics are alarming when it comes to how many people are out there that wish to do harm with our children.
Attempted kidnappings should not be taken lightly. Take heed to these warnings and prepare your children for the off chance they may be approached by a stranger looking to take advantage of them.
“Having a plan can give kids a chance to escape a dangerous situation”, reports Protect Young Minds.
Talking with your children about their bodies and what is and is not appropriate is more than important, because this will help them be able to talk to you when they feel something is amiss.
Develop a code word with your family that is not easily guessed. It can be a phrase like, “Summer dogs are blue”, or a word like, “artichoke.”
Another option to ward off stranger danger or to get out of an uncomfortable situation, you can use Bert Fulks’ “X-plan” method.
This is where the kids’ text just “x” to the parents, in which you would call immediately saying that something happened, and you will have to come get them in 5-minutes.
In so doing, you give the child a chance to respond as if they didn’t know the parents were coming and it can get them out of dangerous, or potentially dangerous situations.
Emphasize to your kids that there should be no secrets among the family, and that if any older person asks them to keep something from their parents, they are not safe.
Go over the emergency plan you put in place in various scenarios to make it easier to implement should the need arise. When things are stressful it becomes more difficult to act quick and logically.
Even talking about counter emergency protocols can be scary, but without them the results could be more frightening.
Don’t wait to set up a code word, and a “x-plan”. Make your child prepared. It will give them a peace of mind in the long run, knowing they won’t be fooled into a dangerous situation.
Please let us know if you have a code word set up with your family, and if your children have ever had to use it.