The fear of kids being kidnapped is one that is overexaggerated by all the attention it gets in the press when it happens. Statistically it is very rare that a kid is kidnapped by someone other than a family member (i.e., father or mother without custody rights.) Yes, it should be discussed with your kids, but not drilled into them to the extent it is in many cases.

"Ok son...you play lost...hide from the people who are looking for you....we will all be on Oprah next week...with a book deal and a Lifetime movie for mom..."

---

----------------------------------------------------------

What if the Hokey Pokey is what it is all about?

I'm sure when most of us were kids it was commonplace to be chased out the door at 8am in the morning during the summer by our mothers with a sandwich in one hand and a fishing pole or baseball bat in the other and told to get on our bikes and not to come back until dinner time unless we wanted to spend the day doing yardwork. Any parent that did that today would be dragged in front of a court on child endangerment charges.

We live in a culture of fear; there are child molestors behind every tree and drug dealers in every parked car.

Sad.

---

----------------------------------------------------------
"A society is defined not only by what it creates, but by what it refuses to destroy."
John Sawhill

Statistically it is very rare that a kid is kidnapped by someone other than a family member (i.e., father or mother without custody rights.) Yes, it should be discussed with your kids,

____________________________________________________________

As a person who teaches children how to avoid strangers and the like. Let me say that sometimes parents take these lessons too far. At some point you have to trust somebody. We teach the kids to approach someone who "should be there" when lost or scared. A police officer, fireman, crossing guard, store clerk. These people are where they should be, doing what they should do. They are not a 50 yr old man asking a 8 yr old girl to find his lost puppy. Adults do not need a childs help! Number one thing to teach! This will blow most of the predators scams. will it protect every child from every creep? No. but we can only do so much. If the child grows up not trusting anyone, have they grown up?

---

Jim

**Note above poster works for a retailer selling bikes and related gear*

there are child molestors behind every tree and drug dealers in every parked car.

So says the evening news. Fear sells. Good news does not.

A world where I cannot trust anyone other than my loved ones is not a world in which I wish to live.

I am not a big fan of "evening news". Teachers watch it during lunch and I always come in and make the same comment, "What's wrong? We were all feeling happy and upbeat today, so we have to watch the news to balance it out?" People do wonderful, nice, and helpful things for each other everyday ... it'd be nice to hear about them.

---

=======================
-- Every morning brings opportunity;
Each evening offers judgement. --

Yep, fear sells. GWB employed it effectively to sell his war.