When I read the story and watched the surveillance video of the little girl who was nearly abducted at a Georgia Walmart a few weeks ago, I immediately thought of the safety of my girls. That brave 7-year-old child knew to kick and scream her way out of her predator’s arms. Would my eldest know what to do if someone snatched her up in a store?

Then, the threat of abduction, my biggest fear in life, moved a little closer to home. A 6-year-old boy was nearly kidnapped FROM HIS BACKYARD in Northwest Gainesville in early March. Again, the child kicked and “squirmed” free from the man, even though he told the child to stay quiet and threatened the boy’s family. Would my little girl know to scream her little lungs out no matter what a predator said to her?

My husband and I have had the “stranger danger” talk with my daughter several times. We covered the basics: don’t ever talk to someone you don’t know, don’t ever go anywhere with a stranger, etc. But we never really went into the details about what to do in the event of abduction. It’s not something I wanted to talk about, AT ALL, but I knew it was something I needed to talk about with my daughter.

Over lunch just a few days ago, my husband and I casually brought up the story about the child in Walmart. We told our almost 6-year-old that there are some people in this world who simply aren’t nice and who make very bad decisions. We talked to her about kicking, screaming, doing WHATEVER it takes to stay safe, despite what a bad person may say to you.

I am so glad that my husband and I talked with our daughter. I am 100 percent confident that deep down in my compassionate, loving little girl, there is a fighter who will rise up if necessary. While the threat of abduction is real and, unfortunately, will probably never go away, talking to my daughter and making sure she is equipped for such an emergency has somewhat eased my fears.

Have you talked to your child about what to do in the event of abduction?

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