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I just read a story about a nine-year-old boy escaping a kidnapping attempt! The boy was playing and a man told the boy to come with him. The man then sprayed pepper-spray on kid and grabbed him. The boy fought back and escaped.
Many kids can escape kidnapping attempts. I will relate my son’s escape at the end of this posting.
In my posting “Surprise Advantage” I tell about ways to use surprise to your advantage. The situation above certainly seems to apply. First the boy did not listen to the kidnapper. He did not get into the van and when the bad guy sprayed pepper spray on the boy – he fought back!
I think children should learn to defend themselves because it gives them the confidence to try and fight back if they are attacked! Many children that are not very aggressive and do not know how to say no to strange adults, are at risk of these predators.
Kids are smaller than adults and have some natural advantages. They can run in-between small spaces as well as under medium-clearance vehicles. For instance a kid that is being attacked and keeps his or her head can dive under the nearest car. Kidnappers generally try to snatch and grab. If a kid dives under a car and wiggles out of the kidnappers reach – the bad guy is unlikely to hang around a long time trying to get the kid.
Older kids can probably run faster then some attackers and it the chase gets hard – the attacker will give up fast. Kids in groups can split up and the ones that escape can get help or throw rocks at the attacker.
The point I am trying to make is no one has all of the answers but for a child in a bind – there are lots of things to try from running away to screaming and fighting back. The only sure way to loose is if the child goes with the kidnapper! Any other action increased the increases the change that the child will get away!
One non-scary way to increase children’s abilities to get away from attacker might be games like tag, keep-away and hide-and-go-seek. If children get the idea they can get away from adults and not be found easily – they may be more apt to try evasive techniques in a pinch.
The other idea is either formal (like karate or self-defense) training or having a father or uncle show the kid how to get away and fight back. Even just the basics are better then nothing. When I was little I use to watch Batman and Robin. I remember telling my dad that they (Batman & Robin) were really fighting. His response was to show me how to throw a punch. He told me that if I pulled my arm back before I punched – the other guy would see it coming. That helped me in school yard tussles growing up. You see – you never know what will have a positive impact.
Now for what happened to my oldest son. He was about eight-years-old at the time and was walking back from his friend’s house (about 2 blocks away). A driver in a pickup started following him (going 5 MPH in a 35 MPH zone). All of a sudden the pickup drove in front (nose in) him. Some ladies walking were observing this and started yelling at my son to Run!!! He did (run) and the driver of the pickup sped away. The local cops put out a warning over the radio but nothing was resolved. My Son was safe due to the keen observations of the two ladies. I thanked them profusely and prayed a thank you to God.
October 29th, 2007 at 1:37 pm
Good for the kid! Except the SOB used the pepper spray against the kid, which is against the law. Next time, hope the kid puts a keychain pepper spray on his keys to spray the bastard first. Hope your boy has one on his keychain also!
Keep up the good self-defense articles, as it’s important to know how to defend thyself if the pepper spray or stun gun does not work. A spinning heel kick to head works wonders, or a knee to the groin.
Christopher Winkler
Provider of Self Defense Products
http://www.defendthyself.com/pepperspray.htm