SUNDAY RERUN: Tell Kids They CAN'T HELP!

It's time for a Sunday Favorite! You can join in on the fun, too. Chari, over at Happy To Design, is our hostess, and you can find her very simple rules by clicking on the button in my left sidebar. Got a favorite entry? Re-post it, and drop the link with Chari! I'm doing a bit of a montage here. The picture above is one my daughter Sarah did some years back, and I loved. I'd still like to see it as a t-shirt.... And then there's this entry, not a favorite for happy reasons, but because it's important. We need to protect our children, and this is an easy rule for them to follow with strangers.

From July of 2002, an entry detailing a conversation with my nanny charge, CJ: I was fixing little CJ's breakfast yesterday morning when he walked into the kitchen.

"Ani," he said, "Did you hear about that little girl who was only five years old and she was playing at her house with her friend and a man told them his puppy was crying and to come with him and help and maybe they could have it?"

"No, I didn't," I said, with a sinking feeling. "What happened?"

"One little girl was kinda smart and she stepped back a few steps," he said, "but the other little girl was kinda not so smart, and the man grabbed her, and he took her and he killed her. And now they found her body."

Jeez. Why? Why?! Why would someone do that? And why should a six-year-old ever have to know they did? But if he doesn't know, then he's in danger himself.

I was so saddened, it took me a minute to say much that was helpful, but I suddenly remembered a 60 Minutes segment on the subject.

"CJ," I asked, "What should you do if a grown-up you don't know asks you for help? Say, his dog is lost or sick? Or he can't find his daughter? What should you do?"

He thought. "Say 'no'," he said, and then, "Step back."

"No, CJ," I said. "RUN!! Run as fast as you can to your grown-up--to Mom, or Dad, or your teacher, or me. Run! Do you know why?"

"Yes. Actually,no." he said. (He and his sister are both so cute that way. They want so badly to be able to say they understand or know everything, but then they back off that yes answer. Every time.)

I answered my question for him. "Because grown-ups don't ask kids for help. Not kids they don't know. Never. When a grown-up needs help he asks another grown-up. They don't ask kids."

He was listening, paying close attention. "So, if a grown-up you don't know asks for help, what do you do?"

"Run," he said, "and go tell my mom or my teacher."

"How fast?" I said, and at his perplexed look, I answered the question for him again. "Very fast. Because grown-ups never ask kids for help. If they do, there's something wrong. Run and find your grown-up as fast as you can."

---

I repeated this to his older (almost 8) sister when I picked her up from her Reading Evaluation.

---

Please, people. If you have children, tell them this! Little kids want so badly to please, and they're trained to obey. They love to help, and learning when not to can save their lives. Let's not lose any more of our precious little ones. No more.