Host: What can parents do to help keep children safer from attempted abductions?
Nancy McBride: There are a number of things parents and guardians and other trusted adults can do to help to keep kids safer from attempted abductions. Now that we know critical time, certainly that going to and from school scenario is important to make sure that kids are supervised. Whether it's at a bus stop, whether it's riding to school in their bikes making sure that there are kids together or if kids are walking to and from school making sure that they stay together, caution kids about taking short cuts. I mean every child wants to take the short cut, maybe cut the time that it takes to get to school, stay on the path, stay on the path where there are people around who can see what's going on and also talk to your kids about what they can do if they're approach by somebody.
This is a good opportunity to talk to your kids again and remind them that it doesn't matter what the person says or does, they don't need to respond, you don't want them to respond, all you want them to do is get out of the situation quickly and tell you or another trusted adult and make sure they do that. And even if something doesn't happen to them but they see a car that keeps driving by the bus stop or they see somebody who just hasn't seem to fit in or seems to be doing something in the neighborhood that's not quite right. Let somebody know about that because that maybe somebody who somebody else has reported and there maybe a pattern there that law enforcement might be able to trace.
What we know about these perpetrators is they are in vehicles. What we also know is they're highly mobile so if they have been in one community, they may move and go to another community, so there maybe a pattern form between that time. So teach your kids to be observant, teach them to be alert and aware, be aware of your surroundings, be aware of people in your surroundings and know what to do if approached.
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