Hug Your Kids and Watch Them Closely

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Barbara L

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Just a reminder that most of us don't need, but at the same time, we all need now and then. The 8-year-old granddaughter of a good friend was almost kidnapped from a school track today. Her brother was practicing football, her mom had just gone back to the car, and she was playing on the track. A man with a puppy started talking to her and told her she could have the puppy if she would take care of it. He asked her where she lived and started walking out of the school with her. Her mother saw and yelled for her, and the man ran away. The police haven't caught him.

Fortunately my friend's granddaughter is okay.
 
Oh my, speechless. That must be the scariest thing to ever happen to a parent.
I'm very glad to hear the mother stopped it.
Hope the police catches him fast!
 
Thanks for sharing, Barbara. That is so wrong!

I remember the feeling a couple of years ago when a young girl (6 I think) who lives the one of the condos above us went missing. Her Dad was absolutely beside himself and we all went looking for her...on foot, in cars. She was supposedly playing with one of the girls from another building in the complex but the Mom said she hadn't seen her but they found her coat near there. After 3 hours the girl was found hiding in her own closet crying because she had lost her coat and would be in trouble.

It was a real wake-up call for everyone. We were all terrified.
 
It's a shame they never found the man. I've a 6 year brother and a 5 year sister; if I ever saw something like that happening to them I would chase the bastard untill my heart blew. What strikes me the most is that someone didn't offer assistance after hearing the mother yelling. It was football practice, there had to have been dozens of people around, more than a few capable runners. And the man had a puppy, he couldn't have taken off that quickly. It's just a terrible situation all around. I'm glad that the girl is fine.
 
This can never be said too often. Thank you Barbara L. Glad the little one is OK.
 
as a cub scout leader and a little league coach, i've had to take a number of classes on how to protect children from predators, how to recognize them, and when to be alert to their possible presence in various situations. some of these classes have interviews with convicted child molesters that make you nearly sick watching them. it's difficult to remember my christian background at times like those.

after all of that training, though, i've gotten in the habit of having a sort of "radar" or awareness of who's around when i'm with a group of kids. i have no problem staring directly at adults that are watching the kids in my care, even as far as walking up to anyone who i don't immediately know as a friend or relative of one of the kids. i don't care if it bothers anyone or they think i'm bsing rude because i'm doing it for a far better reason than to worry about someone's feelings.

it's weird now, though. that training has warped me. where before i would have just enjoyed being in a park on a nice day, i now feel like i'm on some kind of alert status, actually like being in a jungle with a stalking predator around.
but at least the kids are safe.
 
I know what you mean BT. The way the world has gone, you have to be wary of anyone you don't know well. Some people might say, "What if that guy really wanted to give her the puppy," or "What if this person was just trying to be nice by offering a kid some candy (toy, etc.)." The reality is, though, that a responsible adult wouldn't even offer things like that to a child they don't know because it forces a child to have to make a choice whether to trust that person or not. I know that I am a nice, trustworthy person, but if I want to give something to a child, I ask the parents first. I don't want to put a child in the position of having to decide if I am good or not.
 
I, too, have become very, very cautious around children, even those I know and some I am related to. It is a shame that you have to be that way any more. Occasionally one of my sibs or their spouses will try to insist a niece or nephew hug me when they'd obviously prefer not. I quietly tell the sib that the poor child does not know me. I see these kids once a year. The children in their late teens, OK, if they want to give me a hug, fine. But especially when they were younger, don't force the issue. Since I now live in a quite small town, my neighbors' children know me and know that if stuck and they see me around town, I can help out. But otherwise it isn't safe to approach a child any more, intentions can be so misinterpreted.
 
If I wave "Hi" at a cutie, I don't expect a wave back or anything, I am a stranger after all. If I get a smile, I am thrilled. But, I do this all from a safe distance...safe for the child and with their parents near.

Like Claire, I never force myself on children or pets, they will come around when they are ready.
 
I have just read this and it is shocking!

As Andy said earlier, they are monsters these people :mad:

I am so pleased to hear that the little girl is safe and sound...

It certainly is a scary world
 
EU Missing Children Cases

:cool: Buon Giorno,

There are uncountable cases on our side of the globe too ... Sevilla and Huelva in Spain; The Little British Girl who was kidnapped from her bed in Algarve, Portugal and the grown up young woman from Austria, who is now writing a book about her misfortunate and horrible ordeal.

The problem is that these kidnappers are MENTALLY ILL.

The best piece of advice to provide your grandchildren and children with is; NEVER TALK TO, NEVER GO WITH AND NEVER TAKE CANDY OR FOOD FROM STRANGERS ... This should be instilled and taught as part of the school programming.

The penal system in Spain particularly does not punish to fit the crime, and it is a revolving door ... However, thanks to the Sevillian couple, who had a daughter named Marta of 17 or so, who was killed by an ex boyfriend, his brother and a friend. Her body was dismantled and thrown either in the Famous Guadaquilvir River, or buried and only this one jailed terrible juvenile deliquent knows where ... The parents of the dead girl, went to the Office of the President asking that he be given a life sentence for what he had done ... The Judge and Jury followed with a life long sentence, the 1st in Spain in 35 years !!!

Well, this subject makes me extremely saddened, that there are pyschos on this planet who are capable of destroying the lives of others.

Barbara, and Colleague Members: thanks for all the posts.

Ciao &
Happy 4th,
Margi. ;)
 
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