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Wednesday, January 29, 2003The tactics can make it possible for even a 5-year-old to get away from a full-grown man. For example, a child may be able to use her fingertips to strike a man in his eyes and follow that with kicks to the groin. If a child's mouth is being held shut, sometimes the man's fingers can be bitten hard. Or, if the child is being held with a rear bear hug, a head butt followed by a hand strike to the groin or a stomp on the top of the foot could give the child an opportunity to escape. Then, if the child cannot outrun an aggressor, it may be possible to avoid being captured by ducking under a parked car. Other tips include ways to avoid being shoved into a car or, if trapped in a car, how to disable the driver or the vehicle, causing an accident that would attract attention. Or, if abducted into a car, the child should try to jump into the back seat and escape through a back door. A child who is locked in a trunk should push out the taillights so that the wires hang outside the car. Tell children that if they are ever abducted, they should never stop fighting and looking for ways to escape. Several months ago, a 7-year-old girl was rescued after being tied up in a basement with duct tape over her mouth. She chewed through the tape, broke a window and called out for help. This has been our standard advice for the Medpundit children. In fact, last summer when my youngest went to Safety Town, the teacher asked the kids what they would do if a stranger tried to grab them. My son raised his hand and volunteered, “Fight to the death!” His teacher scolded him, “No, no, no. Run away.” But what if a child can't run away? I told him that if he can't run, he needs to fight. The school has evidently changed its approach, because just a few weeks ago, they offered something called “Escape School” to teach kids how to dodge and fight abductors. My kids didn’t get to go,they had other activities that night, so I can't tell you what it was like. But it sounds like better advice than my son got at Safety Town. As Glenn Reynolds would say, a pack not a herd. posted by Sydney on 1/29/2003 06:34:00 AM 0 comments 0 Comments: |
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