May Saubier
posted in Mom Stories
Ten years ago this week, fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Smart was escorted out of her bedroom in the middle of the night by Brian David Mitchell as he held a knife to her neck. He threatened to kill her and her family if she did not cooperate. She was brought to a campsite near her home where she endured daily sexual assault for 9 months.
Today, Smart is a survivor and she has a message for our children – it is ok to fight back. “The majority of [kids] who fight back are able to get away, but I didn’t know that.”
According to the president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), Ernie Allen:
Twenty years ago we would have told kids to do what the [abductor] says and wait for someone to come help you. We now say fight, scream, kick, bite; use whatever tool you have to attract attention to yourself.
Amber Alerts are a new, helpful tool in fighting child abductions but Smart also wants to empower children. Scary as it sounds to encourage a child to fight off an adult with a weapon, the NCMEC claims children are, in most cases, better off fighting in order to avoid being taken to a second location. Smart is working with an organization called radKIDS. She along with its founder, former police officer Steve Daley, promote training children to take control.
This type of advice flies in the face of what we teach our children daily. Most children are taught to respect adults and follow directions. Don’t hit. Don’t bite. Don’t kick. Keep your hands to yourself. Zero tolerance policies at school have further driven home the non-violence philosophy. It may come as a shock to some children to learn that fighting can be life saving and necessary.
I am going to try a test tonight and ask my school-aged children – is it ever OK to hit and fight? I hope they say yes. Then we are going to have an age-appropriate talk about a brave girl named Elizabeth. I will tell them she is a hero of mine. And she has an important message to share.
Does this advice resonate with you? Will you help share Elizabeth Smart’s message? Also, please see this informative post by Sara McGinnis on neighborhood sex offenders.
Read more from source:“babycenter-com-baby”
elizabeth smart has a safety message for your children
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