How to be safe at home, in school and in public.

This information was shared with us at Snikiddy by one of our staff members who’s child attends a school in Lafayette, CO. It was presented to the children by Mr. Christopher Spann from

Vision Quest Martial Arts in Lafayette, CO .

The Most Important Rule: The Most important self defense tool is your brain; and the NUMBER 1 RULE is: You never go anywhere without your parents/guardians’ permission. The Ten Evil Warriors someone might use to lure children: Discuss these with your children, test them to see if they can identify them, or have them give you examples. 10 Evil Warriors 1. Gift Giver lures you with a gift  2. Friendly offers to be friends or include you in a desired activity  3. Game Player plays a game to earn trust (and then it may become uncomfortable)  4. Helpless needs your help (help me find lost cat, sister or carry something because she has a cast/crutches)  5. The Leader person who looks like they are in power (may have a uniform) and may ask you to come with him/her  6. Messenger comes with a message for you from your parent (your mom has a flat tire and asked me to pick you up)  7. Magician knows a lot of info about you (name, school, teacher, etc) and uses it to gain trust  8. Promiser the person promises that everything is OK and your parents won’t mind  9. Cool The person is cool or fun and entices you because of his/her status  10. Scary The person just grabs you (no talking/negotiation is involved). Tell your children to try the Fish Self Defense (put both hands above the head, wiggle like a fish and yell “You are not my Mom/Dad !”)  Additional Points to Discuss with your Children:

“Bathing Suit Rule” –you do not let anyone touch you and/or you do not touch anyone where you wear a bathing suit without permission. Even a doctor will ask permission. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, go to a trusted adult.  It is OK to be rude when something becomes uncomfortable or breaks the #1 rule (even if initially they talked to him/her or started to follow him/her). Try Role Playing with your Children: Role Play with your children on how to get out of an uncomfortable situation (put both hands out in front of them in a stop signal while taking 2 steps back and saying loudly, “I don’t know you”). Additional Tips for Adults: Code words are not the best way to teach a child to trust or go with someone. It is better to tell them that they must call you and speak to you directly to get permission before going anywhere with someone (even people you know). Teach your children that most strangers are good people and not all strangers are bad. Have them practice talking to strangers (grocery clerk, etc.) when you are with them. Don’t put the child’s whole name on the outside of the backpack, instead use initials (and write the name on the inside). Teach children to not take shortcuts when they get permission to go to someone’s house (stay on normal route and visible path). It is not OK to keep secrets from parents/guardians. There is a difference between a secret and a surprise (a surprise means parents will find out and be happy about it).