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[taxlady]

Now, parents are getting arrested for allowing their children to be "free range". I think the danger has always been there. In our area, there are still unsolved missing children cases going back many years.

Yup, I read about that. I think it's outrageous.

Of course, how "free range" the kids should be allowed to be should depend on the age and personality of the child.

I was allowed to walk places alone at five. My little sister was allowed to come with me from approximately age five, when I was eight. She wasn't allowed out past the corner alone until she was eight or nine.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

This is good. Did any of them use the puppy trick like in the video? That would be a good test, I think.

I wish I had known about the puppy or kitten trick (kittens may have worked on him), he would be 25 this year, so this happened a while ago.

 

[roadfix]

On a related note a mutual friend checking through the Megan's Law website discovered last night that one of our employee's husband is a registered child sex offender. It came as a shock as I've known this couple for several years now. They have a 5 yr old son together and my daughter has invited them to countless family functions involving many kids over the years. Crazy...

 

[Kayelle]

Good video to be sure. I sure wouldn't want to be raising little ones in today's world. I don't know if stranger abductions have increased over the generations, or if the technology now has made it seem so.

When I was a young mother forty years ago I'd often send my 9 yr old son alone to the neighborhood grocery and never think a thing of it. Now days no parent in their right mind would do that. One day he came home with the milk I sent him to get and he said he had stopped to help an old man who had lost his car keys. The man asked him to reach between the seats of his car to get them because his hand was smaller. To my horror Joey did it!! He said he knew he probably shouldn't have gotten in that car but he did it anyway because he felt sorry for the old man. He retrieved the keys for the grateful old man but it still makes my stomach turn over to think of what could have happened, but didn't. In today's world that innocent man would never ask!

 

[CrazyCatLady]

It's not alarmist. It's more eye-opening as to how easy it can be to lure a child away from the parent.

Years ago when my daughter was little, we were part of a neighborhood watch committee. We decided to go to the local park and do the same thing with a little shih-tzu/long-haired chihuahua mix puppy. Out of the nine kids (including mine) who were approached with permission from the parent(s) here's what happened:

Kid #1: Spit on the guy and ran away.

Kid #2: Fell for it.

Kid #3: Told the man his big brother would beat him up if he didn't go away.

Kid #4: Asked for the family password. When she didn't hear it, she ran to her Mom.

Kid #5: Fell for it.

Kid #6: Said he had to go peepee, and after his Mom took him to the restroom, he might come back.

Kid #7: Screamed at the top of her lungs and ran to her parents.

Kid #8: Said he didn't like dogs and walked away.

My kid: Punched him in the nads, kicked his shin, and ran to us.

I guess you could tell which kid was raised by Army officers.

 

[ardchoille]

I watched the video, though I'm deaf and couldn't understand what was being said. I'm guessing that the parents were surprised at how easy it was to lure their children away from them? I didn't see any way to enable captions in the video.

I do like the idea of a family password, as CrazyCatLady mentioned, and will recommend that to families that I know.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I like the family password, too! Even though I think screaming and shouting is the best way to point out someone trying to harass children, everyone in the area should know a child has been at risk.

 

[Addie]

In a few town lately, we have had vehicles following small kids on their way to school or going home.

I always taught my kids, "if a man or vehicle is following you, turn around and run in the opposite direction. Scream at the top of your lungs while you are running." The last thing any abductor wants is attention being drawn to them.

When my sister and I had the Girl Scout troop, we had a session on this subject. We had a police officer come and speak to the girls. Because they were older, the instructions were a bit different. He told them about running in the different direction, crossing to the other side of the street and try to look at the man for just a couple of seconds so you can see the color of his hair, does he wear glasses and the color of the vehicle. Then a couple of weeks later, sure enough, we had a stalker in the neighborhood. She did cross the street behind the vehicle and while doing so was able to remember the first three letters on his plate along with the color. The found him shortly thereafter trying to find another kid.

About five years ago my granddaughter was sitting on the front steps with her girlfriends. A car pulled up and propositioned them. They even pulled out a wad of bills. All of the girls started to scream. The police found the men a block away. I won't even tell you what the cops did to them as they were being handcuffed.