Two-thirds of imprisoned sexual assault offenders reported that their victims were younger than the age of 18.¹

Sixty-one percent of all rape victims are younger than 18.²

The average victim of abduction and murder is an approximately 11-year-old girl, who is described as a "low risk," "normal" kid from a middle class neighborhood with a stable family relationship who has initial contact with an abductor within a quarter mile of her home.³

Now that I have your attention...

We make rules to keep our children protected. They test our rules as a part of seeking their identity. Sometimes those 'tests' can be so frustrating that we relent. It is at those times when we need to reread the facts above. We need to remember that in today's world the slightest mistakes can have dire consequences.

Tips On Protecting Your Child:

• Teach your children never to go out alone, always take a friend, even to go jogging in the neighborhood.
• Know where your child is and who they are with. Keep this as a standard rule in your home, no room for argument.
• Collect friend's phone numbers.
• Talk about situations to them. Do not just talk about strangers. Role play!
• Keep a notebook with information about your child. Color of hair and eyes, date of birth, height, weight, physical attributes and any other identifiers. (glasses, braces, etc.) Take pictures for the notebook also. Update it every six months.
• Share a code word with your child known only among family members.
• Stress to your child that anyone offering a ride unexpectedly — even a family friend — will have been given the code word in advance.
• Stress to your teen that they must not ride with anyone they do not know.