The subject of child safety scares parents more than it does children.

It is wrong to withhold information designed to enhance a child's safety because of our own denial and superstition. Children have a tremendous capacity to learn and draw conclusions from information that they receive. To raise safety minded children, you must talk to them regularly, not just when there is a breaking news story. If you deny these realities, they will come back to haunt you in one form or another. When it comes to teaching your child the important lessons in life, there is no one more qualified than you. If you do not sensationalize, but speak from a position of compassion and love, we can overcome our fears and regain control of our destiny. There are many non-threatening examples that you can share with your children to teach how to keep themselves safer.

Just remember:
Keep it simple, be creative, and don't be scared. Get smart!

In Spokane, Washington I met ten-year old Alicia.

Alicia's Story

Upon receiving permission from her mother, Alicia and her seven-year old sister were playing in their neighborhood park when a nice looking man in a shiny red truck called the girls over.

"Will you girls help me find my lost puppy?"

"No", Alicia said. "We don't know you."

"I'll give you twenty dollars," he said, proffering a wad of bills.

"Don't go," Alicia said to her sister. "We don't know him."

The man persisted, so the girls walked through the park towards their home.

When they got near the street the man in the truck was waiting for them. "Will you girls help me find my puppy?" he asked. Alicia took her sister's hand, pulled her close and said, "Come with me. We'll make an obstacle course through the park so that he can't follow us." Her sister's cap fell off and the man left his truck to retrieve it. He called after the retreating youngsters, "Come back and get your hat."

Alicia told her sister, "Stay with me." as they crossed the street and approached a house with children she did not know playing in the front yard.

Alicia asked the children if she could talk to their mother. All of the children entered the house and Alicia called her mom. Alicia saw the man in the shiny red truck a few days later on a field trip. Now she is afraid to play in her front yard.

I think Alicia is a hero because she wasn't conned by his lure and her younger sister is safe.

Alicia's experience demonstrates five of the most important safety rules we should be teaching our children.

• She checked with her mom.
• She went outside with at least one other person, her sister, and we all know that there is safety in numbers.
• She trusted her feelings. When the man in the red truck called to them, Alicia knew that something was wrong.
• She put physical distance between herself and that which was making her feel uneasy. When her sister attempted to retrieve her hat, Alicia refused to let go of her hand.
• She instinctively understood that strangers could be good and helpful. Children, mothers with children, police officers in uniform, and store clerks in the mall are all strangers that can assist children facing a potentially dangerous situation.

More than anything else, Alicia used her brain. She based her decisions upon the appropriateness of action. This is a story from which we can all learn. Alicia's mother talks to her daughters about safety on a regular basis and it is obvious that these talks have served her young daughters well.