HELP YOUR CHILD BE SAFE BY DEVELOPING A CODE WORD SYSTEM

An abduction of a 5 year old girl from a school in Philadelphia on Monday (01/14/13) really set my nerves on edge because the incident occurred due to the failure of someone on the staff following proper identification procedures.

Nailla Robinson was abducted by a woman who was clad in a burqa.   The woman told school personnel that she was Nailla's mother.  But the person responsible for releasing Nailla failed to use proper identification procedures prior to releasing Nailla to the woman. School officials did not realize that this little girl was missing until her after school caretaker arrived to pick her up at 3 in the afternoon,

 I really want to get into this aspect of the situation but that is a post for another time.

This incident could of cost little Nailla her life.

This child abduction story has a happy ending.  Nailla managed to escape her captors and was helped by a man who heard her cries for help on Tuesday morning.

During a discussion about this story on Facebook, one of the comments questioned if her parents had done anything to help their daughter realize that she should not have left with the woman.

I suspect that her parents are of the mindset that many parents are about their children's safety at school.  They believe that the entire staff is capable of handling that situation.  This should be the case but parents do not think about their child having a role in helping to be safe.

We have to empower children by giving them tools that they can use and control.

There is a simple technique that can help empower your child while they are at school or an activity that may help them have an active part in being safe.

The Code Word System

• Talk to your child about not leaving school with an unknown adult in a non-threatening manner.  Let your child know that the two of you are going to set up a way to know if they can leave with someone that they do not know by using a code word.
• Have your child/children determine what word they want to use.  
• Stress to them that if anyone comes to the school and tries to take them out of the building, the adult must use the code word FIRST!  Your child has to hear the word from the person who is trying to remove them from school.
• If the adult does not use the code word, teach your child to start raising their voice in refusal and tell them it is okay to say NO to that person.  Tell your child to yell as loud as possible because this will attract the attention to them and the adult.

Also please make sure that your school-age children can give the following information:

• The full names of immediate adult family members. 
• Their address and phone number

I have worked with school-age children in the upper elementary school grades that did not know the names of any of their adult relatives.  They also did know their phone number or address.  Your nickname is not useful if there is an emergency involving your child!  

Also, once you and your child decide on the code word, please don't share that information unless you absolutely need to.  If possible, let the school know that anyone who attempts to pick up your child has to use the code word in your child's presence first.  

If you are not aware of the details regarding Nailla's abduction and rescue please click on the related links for more information.

Related articles

• Amber Alert Issued for Missing Philadelphia Girl
• Missing Philadelphia Girl Found
• Social Media Shares Help Find 5 Year Old Who Was Abducted
• Amber Alert Kit Can Help Find a Missing Child