A family close to mine, this past week in a VERY astute neighborhood after school had a man try and lure their child to the car with a candy bar. At first they said no, but the man persisted. He started walking forward to the car but an observant older girl ran over to him screaming and said no. The man then followed them.
Being an active watching parent isn't enough. Kids need to know, and kids need to be given tools and be empowered to say no. If you teach them saying no to adults is wrong, they will think so about strangers as well. They must be taught, upvote for awareness. And not even as a parent but as an active member of society I will sign up for this site for edification of environment.. :)
Agreed. My children are taught to fight to the death before being forced into a vehicle. Once they are in the vehicle, they are as good as dead. We use code words. If someone other than myself, my oldest son, or my spouse need to pick up a child of mine from school, they are given the code word. My children know to ask for it. Don't know the answer? Fight to the death.
Also, we have a serial young woman predator in Charlottesville, VA. He has not been caught either in my opinion. He'll strike again in the future without a doubt, and he kidnaps, rapes, and murders the girl. Why any parent sends their daughter to UVA boggles my mind. There are numerous reports by young girls of a guy trying to force them into a vehicle too.