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Written by Stacy Shattuck
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Wednesday, 15 November 2006 |
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Word Count: 762 Snatched in the Night-What Every Parent Should Know About Home Invasion Abductions
Home invasions have made the news recently as a frightening form of child
abduction. This type of abduction is not new, but it is starting to become more
common as traditional forms of child abduction are becoming less effective.
This type of child snatching has parents panicked and paranoid. After all, where
is your child safe it not in their own home? However, very few parents
understand that with a little safety training, this type of abduction can
usually be prevented just as easily as other forms of child abduction.
How it works
An abductor will sneak into the child’s home at night, attempting to gain access
to the child. He or she will then either threaten the child with harm, or talk
the child into coming with them. The child is snatched out of their bed, usually
without a sound or commotion, and unfortunately, is rarely seen alive again.
What it depends on
This type of abduction, is obviously a stealth abduction. It is secretive,
quiet, and depends on the child’s compliance, in one form or another. They need
silent kids, period.
Defeating it
Noise. Plain and simple. Compliance gets a child nowhere, they need to yell and
make a ruckus. If a person did not intend to physically harm the child, this
will just scare them off. Even if they did intend to harm the child, it is
highly unlikely, that in the commotion, the abductor will choose to kill the
child on the spot as opposed to run off. Silence with kids is death. Yelling and
screaming is life.
Training your kids
It is important that you sit down and talk with them about this type of
abduction. Tell them that if anyone ever awakes them in the middle of the night,
they are to scream as loud as they can and call for help. They need to scream,
kick the walls, knock over furniture, make as large of a ruckus as they can in
order to yell for their parents and try to get away. If the person grabs them
and try’s to run off, they should hang onto doors, windows, whatever they can to
resist. Teach children to do this even if the person says they will kill them if
they make noise. Explain to them the reality outlined earlier, that they are
just saying that to get compliance and will probably run off if you make noise.
If you go with them, they might kill you anyway.
A parents role
If at all possible, encourage children, especially younger children, to sleep
with their doors open at night. Parents should also keep their doors open, (when
not engaged in extra curricular activities) so that they have a means to hear
their child if they happen to scream in the middle of the night. Not only does
this ensure you hear them in the rare event that someone is in their room, but
it will also come in handy for the everyday night terrors and other needs that
your little ones require your assistance for.
Friends don’t come a knocking in the night...
What many parents don’t seem to realize, more likely of a scenario than threats,
is that the child willingly walks out with the abductor because it is someone
the child knows. Around 60% of all children murdered are taken by a close friend
or relative.
It is important to teach children to never go anywhere with anybody except their
parents in the middle of the night. If someone awakes you at night, it doesn’t
matter who they are, you scream as loud as you can, and you get your mom and
dad, no exceptions. Teach children that there is never any circumstance where
someone they know would have a need to enter their room or retrieve them at
night without their parents knowing.
What to do
All parents should sit down at some point with their children and go over this
subject. Explain to them all the points contained in this article, and make sure
they understand. For added assistance, Global Children’s Fund also publishes a
book, "Something Scary Happened" which teaches children what to do in the event
of this type of abduction. Have a happy and safe year!
For a variety of free information and safety book downloads, on this and other
important child safety issues, please visit us at:
www.keepyourchildsafe.org
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