Teach your children how to recognize stranger danger

There are things you can do to help your children recognize stranger danger. Child abduction is not common in Green Country, but it's still important to be prepared.<br><br>In the News on Six "Child

Friday, January 19th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

There are things you can do to help your children recognize stranger danger. Child abduction is not common in Green Country, but it's still important to be prepared.

In the News on Six "Child Lures" series, The News on Six with the help of the Tulsa Police, showed how easy it is to lure children away from safety.

Late last year, police activated the state's first-ever Amber Alert. It was a happy ending, despite some glitches outside of Tulsa. Police say they're learning from the experience. "Our goal is to make as quick a response as we can,â€ explained Tulsa Police spokesman Sergeant Gary Stansill. â€œIf it's a true abduction, a stranger-type abduction, we want to get the information out to the media as quickly as possible. "We're currently training all the officers in the department through in-service training on what to do, in case we get one of these again," Stansill noted.

Luckily, police say stranger abductions don't happen very often in our area. However they say we should prepare our children, and it's almost never too early to start. "They start to interact with other people,â€ said Safe Kids America spokesperson Michelle Sorrell. â€œThey need to know where they need to stay. You know that they need to stay right with you."

Sorrell is regional director for Safe Kids America, a program that teaches children and parents about stranger danger. She says it's not necessary to warn children with details about what specifically a stranger might do, but make your point clear. "There are are adults out there who want to do very harmful, very hurtful things to children," Sorrell said.

Lots of Sorrell's student's have a vivid picture of a dangerous stranger. "They're a big, dark guy dressed in black,â€ Sorrell said. â€œOr they're somebody with no teeth and nasty hair.â€ Children need to know that dangerous people can drive nice cars, have nice clothes and be outwardly friendly as well as good-looking. It's not too early to make the message clear and strong to keep your children safe.

Safe Kids America is starting several child safety seminars in our area.
For more information, call the regional office at 1-866-515-2268,

Or click here to be transported to their website.