Abduction case brings new warning to parents

With the recent abduction and murder of a Florida girl, officials with a national child advocacy group are putting out warnings for Iowa kids and reminders for Iowa parents. Carol Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, says parents need to teach their children about personal safety and abduction prevention. Watson says, “What we tell children is: run to the closest place where there are people who can help you, fight back if and only if you have to do that to get away and yell as loud as you can, make as much noise as you can.” Watson says a new book is the third in a series of child safety books. This one, called “I Want To Be Safer,” is geared toward third through sixth graders. Watson says parents often set their kids up to be victims. She says, “Because we teach our kids to be good, to be helpful. If an adult says you should do x-y-z, you should do that. And we neglect to say, “Look, if it doesn’t feel right, if you feel threatened, it’s OK to fight back, to be rude, to really assert yourself.” For more information, call 888-RUN-YELL or go to “www.ncmec.org”.