IMPORTANT STEPS TO PREVENTING CHILD ABDUCTION:

Taking a PROACTIVE approach to the problem of abduction is the way to help prevent this from happening to someone you care about. Here are some of the PROACTIVE things that you can do:

1. Be aware of changes in your child's behavior. Find out what is causing the changes and address them.

2. Be alert to anyone paying too much undue attention to a child. This might include a teenager as well as an adult.

3. Know where your child is at all times and whom they are associating with. Communicate with your child openly and freely.

4. Make sure that your child understands that they are to never accept gifts from people they do not know.

5. Tell your child to go with their instincts.

6. Your child should understand that no one should ever approach them and touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable or uneasy. They need to know that it is sometimes all right to say NO to an adult.

7. Children should feel comfortable approaching and talking with parents and teachers of any problems. They should be told that if they ever are approached, they should immediately tell their parents, teachers, or a person in authority.

8. Children should understand that if they ever get separated from their parents they should not wander around. Let the parents find them.

9. If a child gets lost and needs assistance, they should be taught to find A PERSON IN AUTHORITY.

10. A child should ask a parent's or teacher's permission to leave a yard or play area BEFORE they leave.

11. They should NEVER get into a car or vehicle without a parent's ok.