Counter Abduction Tactics (CAT) For Kids
NOT too long ago a young boy was walking home with a hubcap he had found. A car pulled up and a man rolled down the window and, in his “nicest” voice, thanked the youngster for finding his hubcap. “Would you mind walking over here and handing it to me?” he sang.
THE BOY dropped the hubcap where he stood and said in his nicest voice, “here it is, sir.” And continued on his way home. When he arrived home, he did what I would have asked him to do in one of my CAT classes: he consolidated the tactic by telling his mother about what had happened. Predictably, when the boy and his mother walked back to the scene of the incident they found the hubcap where the boy had dropped it.
THIS brings up, then, exactly what tactics does CAT for Kids advocate to keep your children safe from the Chicken Hawks (child sexual predators and abductors)?
THE CAT FOR KIDS PARADIGM.
A caveat here. There are several CAT paradigms. Counter-Bully. Counter-Abductors. Escape and Evasion. Preventive. Physical Survival Strategies. What you are about to read represents Escape and Evasion Tactics relative to the Hubcap Scenario.
- Safety Coaches (Parents) simply teach their child skills that the child is already good at.
- Safety Coaches Must Not Frighten Their Kids with words, etc. “Never, ever do this. He will kill you, rape you, cut you up, etc!
- Safety Coaches always supportive. Tactics designed to get you back to us because we love you. When child asks “Why would someone want to hurt me?” Make certain you (The Safety Coach) makes it clear that “I don’t really know, but it is not your (the child’s) fault. It’s the adult’s (the predator)!
- SAFETY COACH TEACHES SKILLS THE CHILD IS ALREADY GOOD AT:
Ø Ignoring what an adult says. If that adult or older youngster is not on your Safe List (list of people who are totally safe to talk to. A very short list, by the way), do not engage in conversation.
Ø Turn Off Your Ears. No matter how nice he or she sounds.
Ø Trust your gut instincts. Kids are always saying, “I don’t know, Mom. He just gives me The Creeps,” when the kid doesn’t want to kiss or hug a relative or friend of the family. The Creeps are Gut Instincts and they are hardly ever wrong!
Ø The CAT Golden Rule: NEVER, EVER LEAVE THE FIRST PLACE WITH ANYONE, ESPECIALLY AN ADULT!
Ø Consolidate CAT. Tell a trusted second (adult) person ASAP about the adult who tried to get your to leave the first place with his or her’s seductive “story.”
Ø Consolidate CAT Rule Number 2 (Parents/Safety Coach must teach their child this). Move away when adult calls you by name, or addresses you in any way (do not follow your instincts and inquire how he knows you by name), even when he says your parents have been injured. Teach the child to say: “Thank you for telling me. I’ll go find mom and dad right now—“
Ø Safety Coach Says: Always Remember When Adult Starts talking To You:
Ø Keep Moving.
Ø But do not turn your back to him (Predator-Prey-Principle).
Ø It is not about you, honey. It is their sickness.
Ø Do Not Ask “Why?” The only question in your mind is How can I escape now?”
Ø If He “Has You and You Can’t Escape and Evade Him Right Now:
- Sit down and stay in that public place. Help will come to you.
- Hug Like a Bug, like a Sit-In Protest.
- Sit-Ins are hard to pick up. If he does try to pick you up and carry you off, though—-woops. That is my next post:
Until Then, please Stay safe.
Hammer