Research indicates children who escape abduction do so by their own actions

Parent Cafe
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<p>Note: The study also indicates that the kids most likely to be abducted are middle schoolers, and 30% of them are boys, so don’t assume that teens/preteens and boys are safe from this.</p>

<p>"The new analysis examines more than 4,200 cases of attempted but unsuccessful abductions, and it shows that children were their own best protectors.</p>

<p>“They escaped these things not through the efforts of good Samaritans, but through recognizing a bad situation and either getting away from it, avoiding it, or screaming and kicking to draw attention,” said Ernie Allen, president of the missing children’s center.</p>

<p>In the vast majority of the cases examined, children escaped harm through their own actions. In 16 percent of the cases, an adult stepped in to help.</p>

<p>“The goal here is not to frighten, but to encourage parents to sit down with their kids, talk to them about their safety, and practice these things,” he said. “Our overall premise is, kids protect themselves with their heads, and if they are prepared and alert, and if they know what to do and how to respond, they are at far less risk.”
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<p>Allen said parents should be aware that children targeted in abduction attempts are often preteens and teens in middle grades. More than 70 percent were girls. "</p>

<p>[Study</a> finds capable children are their own best defense against abduction](<a href=“http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/04/AR2010090403226.html?hpid=topnews]Study”>http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/04/AR2010090403226.html?hpid=topnews)</p>

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<p>Wow. That totally validates what I’ve taught my children. I’ve instructed them (and hope they listen) that they always fight, run or hide–depending upon what is most appropriate for the situation. Never stay there, waiting to die.</p>

<p>Action is most effective when done at the beginning of a situation. When you move to a different location, always determine where the exits are, and what you can use as a weapon. Even in the classroom. It is a sad state of affairs, but if you have a plan in mind, that is much more effective than improvising without any forethought.</p>