A heart-stopping incident involving a 5-year-old girl from Hubei, China, is a real-life lesson on the importance of child safety and preparedness. This story of a young girl’s quick thinking and courage under pressure has been hailed as a “child abduction prevention textbook” and offers valuable insights for parents.
The incident
While on her way to school, a woman grabbed the little girl forcibly. Despite her fear, she didn’t resist, but bided her time, waiting for the right moment to escape. When a patrol officer approached, the girl seized the opportunity to break free and run toward the officer for help. The woman claimed to be the child’s mother, but the girl cried: “She’s not my mother!”
The girl then accurately described the abduction process and provided her name, school, and her parents’ contact information on her backpack, allowing the police to contact her family and confirm the situation quickly.
Key takeaways from the incident
- The girl didn’t violently resist the abductor, ensuring her safety.
- The girl recognized the police officer and knew to ask her for help.
- Her cry of “She’s not my mother!” allowed the police to assess the situation quickly.
- Her clear description of the abduction helped police understand the situation.
- The accurate provision of her personal information helped police quickly contact her family.
- The girl stayed close to the officer, ensuring her safety.
The secret behind her preparedness
Many might wonder how a 5-year-old could remain calm and knowledgeable in such a situation. The answer lies in her early education. Using nursery rhymes, her father taught her all the family members’ names and phone numbers. By the age of four, she had memorized her school’s name, address, and teacher’s phone number. She was also taught to stay calm and shout for help when in danger.
10 tips for child abduction prevention
- Teach your children that it is more important to get out of a threatening situation than it is to be polite. Children should be taught that just because someone tries to engage them in conversation, it doesn’t mean they should talk to that person or forget their safety rules. Immediately get away from anyone who bothers them or makes them sad, scared, or confused. Remind them that it is alright to be impolite and say no.
- Tell them to trust their feelings. A recent study indicates that 84 percent of thwarted abductions involved the child doing something proactive to escape, such as walking or running away, yelling, kicking, pulling away, attracting attention, or resisting.
- Teach your child what to do if approached by a stranger. Common tricks used to abduct children include offering a ride, offering the child candy, asking the child to help them look for a lost pet or showing them a pet, asking for directions, or claiming that the child’s parent has asked them to bring the child home because of an emergency.
- Listen to your child; don’t disregard their fears. Instead, let them know that you take their fears and concerns seriously.
- Know your child’s routes to and from school, friends’ homes, and other activities.
- Teach your child their full name, address, and phone number.
- Teach your child how to make long-distance and emergency calls.
- Know your neighbors and your child’s friends, including their names, addresses, and telephone numbers.
- Be involved in your child’s activities by volunteering at school, clubs, and sporting events — participate in a neighborhood watch program.
- Before leaving your child in the care of a daycare, preschool, babysitter, or youth organization, check their references and qualifications. Ask if criminal background checks are conducted before new staff members are hired.
It’s also a good idea to have a close-up photograph of your child taken every six months and to have your child’s fingerprints on record with the police. If your child is taken, you can quickly share this critical information with the police.
