Children are more likely to trust someone who knows their name, don't increase the chances of someone taking advantage of this by having your childs name in plain view. If you place your childs name on items put it on the inside or another nonvisible area, this will allow people who need to see it to find it, but will remain hidden from people who don't need to see it. 

 

Make sure your children know they can tell you anything. There is no easy answer here. When a predator victimizes a child they will try to make that child believe that it is the childs fault and the child is the one who did something wrong. If a child thinks that they can tell a parent when they did something wrong and not get into trouble, the child may do bad things and then tell, so that they don,t get into trouble. If they do get in trouble they may be more likely to try and hide it when they think they've done something wrong. This is beyond my level of instruction, you know your child better than anyone else. You must make sure your child knows that if they think they did something wrong and tell you immediatly, they will get into less trouble, but if they do something wrong and  try to hide it or lie about it they will get into more trouble. The most important thing to teach them is that when an adult makes them to something it is not their fault and should never be affraid of getting into trouble.

 

Get to know the parents of your childs friends, their teachers, bus drivers and anyone else your child has or may have contact with. This does not guarantee they will not harm the child but can decrease the chance or give you early warning if you pay attention to your intuition. 

 

You must establish the people who your child is allowed to go with, anyone else needing to take your child somewhere must use a code word that only you, your child and the person told knows. If you call your child and they are in danger they may not be able to freely tell you, establish some form of warning that sounds like a normal conversation. This can also work when your childs conversation may be over heard in public. Example: If your mchild calls you on her cell phone from the mall and askes if she can go to her friends house. You might ask her if an adult is going to be there. If she answers noand says no one will be home for two hours , someone may overhear this without anyone knowing. If you decide to allow your child to go with her friend, there is now someone who could follow them home and they also know that no adults are home. Thats very scary to think about. A better example: You have established before hand that when ever your child is going to be alone she should say that Aunt Nora (or any name that is not an actual person that either of you know) is going to be with her. Now when she is in the mall and you ask if an adult is going to be there, she can respond by saying Aunt Nora is going to be there. This lets you know that they will be alone, so that you can still decide wether or not to allow it, but it does not let any strangers know that they will be home. Their are countless ways to utiliz these code words, determine the best uses for you and your family and put them to use. 

 

I have seen a great number of parents scold their children for not responding when an adult says something to them and I'm sure these parents have taught their children to not talk to strangers. Some of you may argue that talking to strangers when your not around is one thing but talking to a nice lady when you are around is different, Right? It may be, but your child may not know it or see it that way. Make sure your children know they should never talk to strangers when your not there and without your permission. You as an adult can try to teach your child the difference, but never scold them for not talking to strangers, no matter who the stranger is, after all the child is just doing what they've been told to do.

 

Most of us was raised to believe we could trust certain individuals including but not limited to: police officers, teachers, doctors, firemen, preachers, other clergymen, and various other types of "trust worthy" people, this may have been fine for me and you, unfortunately, today is a different world. The reality is that predators that prey on children, develop their paterns and habits early in life and seek out positions of employment that will give them access to children. Children must have someone to turn to in an emergency, but do not lead your child to blindly trust anyone, no matter who they are or what they are. 

 

How many of you have bragged about your child to some nice person you met at the park or while waiting in line somewhere. This is not normally extremely dangerous, all parents have done it to some extent or another. However, you should be aware that their are people who will take advantage of this. The more a predator knows about the child the easier it will be for them to gain the trust of that child. Not all child predators, are dirty looking old men in trench coats, they come from all walks of life and tend to look like everyone else. They can even appear to be a nice elderly lady, or a very well to do business man or woman. It is it important to note That many people have different deffinitions of what a child predator is, I term a child predator as anyone who would phisically or mentally hurt a child in any way including but not limited to: molesters, abductors, abusers, flashers, drug dealers or anyone who preys on children.

 

Start slow by turning training scenarios into games, then develop into more serious types of training after the child has become use to the training and the idea of personal security and self-defense. Training should not be used to scare children and cause them extra stressor worries, Training should be designed to teach the child what they need to do, when they need to do it. 

 

Responsible teenagers can jump right into certain types of self-defense training, younger and less responsible children and teenagers will need to be taught different techniques. Just like adults, every child is different and their training needs to be personalized to acomadate these differences. I know some of you are thinking the term "responsible teenager" is an oxymoron and that they don't exist, but for those of you lucky enough to have one you know what I'm talking about. I've even seen one or two my self, for Those of you who have not keep trying and good luck!