Safer Child Products

After hearing about Leiby Kletzkey, the 8 y/o religious Jewish boy from Brooklyn who was brutally murdered and dismembered, I said to myself, “If a Hasidic Jewish boy is not safe in his close knit religious neighborhood in Brooklyn, then none of us are safe!”  I was distraught.  Over-reacting a little?  Maybe, however as a parent of children around his age, it certainly hit close to home.  Not only am I saddened about the horror and the tragedy for the boy himself, but imagine how his mother must feel!  I can’t imagine that she will ever get over that loss, but I know that I would second guess everything I ever taught my child about stranger danger and who to trust.  Every day we must make decisions about whether to leave our child home alone, or whether to let them walk alone. 

So what is the right answer?  I read many articles about the Leiby Kletzkey case and one man said “my children don’t talk to any strangers, whether they are wearing a yarmulke or a do rag!” Is that the answer?  Who is really a stranger?  What happened to being neighborly and saying hello to people in your neighborhood you don’t really know but occasionally bump into on the street?  Are we helping our children or doing them a disservice by interfering with their social development?  David Parkin, a Retired Police Superintendent suggests “Denying Children the opportunity to be sociable is damaging to society.”

I think that some good guidelines for safety are never to walk alone, and never to approach a car. Teach your children NOT to be lured by someone asking them for directions, or asking them to help find a missing puppy.  In short, don’t GO anywhere with strangers!

Some safe people to talk to or ask for help are Police Officers/ Security Guards, and shop keepers.  Teachers are good people to talk to as well.  Teach your children to trust their instincts. If someone is making them feel uncomfortable, or they get a funny feeling about a person, leave and go someplace else.  If they cannot find any of these “uniformed” people and need help, a Woman, a Grandparent or someone with young children may be able to help. 

For more great tips on “stranger danger” go to http://www.safetycops.com/stranger_danger.htm