This is going to be totally yawn to most people, but it is important.
I don't usually watch the news so I was sad to hear about the girl in Florida found dead after being kidnapped earlier this week. Our local newapaper did a story about it and included some guidelines to teach our children. I wanted to write them out here so that I wouldn't forget:
--Avoid being alone and don't take shortcuts.
--Never walk over to a car for any reason.
--Don't help an adult you don't know.
--"911" calls at pay phones are free.
--Scream loudly for help or run to another adult and grab onto that person
--If you are shown a gun, run.
They also included age-appropriate words of caution:
Infant to age 3: 24-hour supervision.
Ages 4-5: Don't talk to strangers.
Ages 6-8: Make sure Mom and Dad always know who you are with.
Ages 9-11: Don't believe everything you are told. There are dangerous people in the world.
Ages 12-14: Think before you act.
Ages 15-18: Be careful in choosing your friends.
The article even suggests acting out what they should do in an abduction situation. Our parents never talked to us about stuff like this when we were young.
I remember walking home from school one afternoon with a girlfriend. We always stayed late at school, so it must have been around four or half-past. I wasn't driving so I must have been around fourteen or fifteen. A car with two spanish-speaking men inside approached us, following us from behind. I remember we were terrified, didn't know what to do. We conferred for a moment and decided that if we entered a house nearby, they might think we lived there and go away.
We entered a fence to a house close to us. We knocked on the door, while pretending to be fiddling with a key, and a lady answered. We were ecstatic! We tried explain our situation and ask if she would let us in to use her telephone. "Como?" She asked. She didn't speak english! The car was still there! "Telefono, por favor!" We said desperately and PUSHED the door open.
The lady looked scared. Her husband came running in asking what was going on in spanish. "Un caro a fuera!" We said desperately, using the few spanish words we knew, while again trying to explain the situation in english. We looked out the door. The car was still there. Then I saw it! A phone on the counter! "Por favor?" I asked once again, pointing to the phone. Both of them just stood there, staring at us. The man nodded.
Blasted! No one was home at either house. We continued to peer out the window and decided we would stay there for a few minutes until the car was gone. We waited, and waited, for what seemed like forever. All the while, the man stood behind the lady with is arms on her shoulders. Both of them just staring at the two crazy girls. We didn't care, we just stood peering out the corner of the window like we were taking cover in a shootout.
As we started to calm down, we started to feel funny in the situation. When convinced the car had left, we decided to leave instead of using the phone again. "Gracias!" We said as we opened to door and high-tailed it home to my house, finally able to laugh at what happened and how stupid we sounded trying to speak spanish. What must've the man and woman been thinking, or saying, for that matter!
I think we handled it okay. I mean we were alive and physically unharmed. I am glad I was with a friend though, because I wonder if I would have done any of that had I been alone. Of course, since my friend was much more, ahem, developed, than I, they probably would not have bothered me had I been alone. But happily, we will never know.
I don't usually watch the news so I was sad to hear about the girl in Florida found dead after being kidnapped earlier this week. Our local newapaper did a story about it and included some guidelines to teach our children. I wanted to write them out here so that I wouldn't forget:
--Avoid being alone and don't take shortcuts.
--Never walk over to a car for any reason.
--Don't help an adult you don't know.
--"911" calls at pay phones are free.
--Scream loudly for help or run to another adult and grab onto that person
--If you are shown a gun, run.
They also included age-appropriate words of caution:
Infant to age 3: 24-hour supervision.
Ages 4-5: Don't talk to strangers.
Ages 6-8: Make sure Mom and Dad always know who you are with.
Ages 9-11: Don't believe everything you are told. There are dangerous people in the world.
Ages 12-14: Think before you act.
Ages 15-18: Be careful in choosing your friends.
The article even suggests acting out what they should do in an abduction situation. Our parents never talked to us about stuff like this when we were young.
I remember walking home from school one afternoon with a girlfriend. We always stayed late at school, so it must have been around four or half-past. I wasn't driving so I must have been around fourteen or fifteen. A car with two spanish-speaking men inside approached us, following us from behind. I remember we were terrified, didn't know what to do. We conferred for a moment and decided that if we entered a house nearby, they might think we lived there and go away.
We entered a fence to a house close to us. We knocked on the door, while pretending to be fiddling with a key, and a lady answered. We were ecstatic! We tried explain our situation and ask if she would let us in to use her telephone. "Como?" She asked. She didn't speak english! The car was still there! "Telefono, por favor!" We said desperately and PUSHED the door open.
The lady looked scared. Her husband came running in asking what was going on in spanish. "Un caro a fuera!" We said desperately, using the few spanish words we knew, while again trying to explain the situation in english. We looked out the door. The car was still there. Then I saw it! A phone on the counter! "Por favor?" I asked once again, pointing to the phone. Both of them just stood there, staring at us. The man nodded.
Blasted! No one was home at either house. We continued to peer out the window and decided we would stay there for a few minutes until the car was gone. We waited, and waited, for what seemed like forever. All the while, the man stood behind the lady with is arms on her shoulders. Both of them just staring at the two crazy girls. We didn't care, we just stood peering out the corner of the window like we were taking cover in a shootout.
As we started to calm down, we started to feel funny in the situation. When convinced the car had left, we decided to leave instead of using the phone again. "Gracias!" We said as we opened to door and high-tailed it home to my house, finally able to laugh at what happened and how stupid we sounded trying to speak spanish. What must've the man and woman been thinking, or saying, for that matter!
I think we handled it okay. I mean we were alive and physically unharmed. I am glad I was with a friend though, because I wonder if I would have done any of that had I been alone. Of course, since my friend was much more, ahem, developed, than I, they probably would not have bothered me had I been alone. But happily, we will never know.
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