Welcome to Gaia! ::

The information in this thread is from a pamphlet I got from the local Overwaitea (grocery store). "Code Adam" is named for Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh ("America's Most Wanted").

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Be Smart and Be Safe

- Never leave your shopping cart unattended while your child is still seated in it.

- Never leave your child sitting in the car while you got into a store, no matter how brief your visit might be.

- Prearrange a meeting spot with your child in case you get seperated in a public place.

- If your child disappears in a public place, immediately seek out a security guard or store employee and notify them.

- Teach your child to always check with a parent or guardian before going anywhere. Your child should always tell you where he/she is going, how he/she will get there, who he/she will be going with, and when he/she will return.

- Instruct your child to ask for permission from you before getting into a car or leaving with anyone, even if it's someone that your child knows.

- If accosted by a stranger, teach your child to shout, "This person is not my father (or mother)." A child who only struggles and yells may simply appear to be having a tantrum.

- Caution your child to stay alert, walk confidently, and pay attention to his/her surroundings.

- Make sure your child knows that he/she can't tell what a person is like by their appearance. Even though a person may look friendly, he/she is still a stranger. Teach your child that a stranger is anyone that he/she/you don't know.

- A child is more likely to go with someone who knows his/her name, so refrain from displaying your child's name on clothing or jewelry.

- Assemble an identification packet for your child. Include their height, weight, hair and eye colours, dental records, and professional fingerprints, handprints, and palm prints, as well as recent pictures of your child in several different positions. Take them once a year for older children, and four times a year for pre-schoolers.

- Make a mental note of what your child is wearing every single day.

- Call the police immediately if you notice that your child is missing.

- Teach your child the following: his/her full name, address, and phone number; both parents' first and last names; whom to ask for help: anyone in uniform or on the job, a teacher, a store clerk, a waitress.
(As a rule, teach your child that the stranger they approach is safer than the stranger that approaches them.)