Police and the Missing Child Center Hawaii are reminding parents to take precautions to safeguard their children against abduction as thousands of kids head back to school. Parents reminded to
heed kids’ safetyThousands of students statewide
return to public schools todayStar-Bulletin staff
Students from 96 public schools statewide begin classes today, tomorrow and Friday. Students in 53 other public schools are already attending classes.
Missing Child Center Hawaii has the following safety tips for parents:
>> Teach children how to use the telephone to call home or the office. Make sure they know their full name, address and telephone number (including area code).
>> Practice making collect calls to parents. Tell children that collect calls will always be accepted and to call immediately should anything unusual happen. Some tactics include saying the children should come with the abductors because the children's parents are dead or they don't love the children anymore.
>> Make sure children know not to accept rides from strangers and to be alert against a stranger who suggests they go off together for any reason, for example, to find a lost puppy, etc.
>> Tell children they should inform their parents immediately if another adult suggests keeping secrets from them.
>> Never leave a child alone in the car, even for a minute.
>> Teach children to NEVER release personal information over the computer to someone they have never met.
>> Know who a child is communicating with via computer. Utilize parental-control computer programs.
>> Always keep a child's computer in a family room or high-trafficked area.
Tell children that it is all right to say no to an adult if they sense something is wrong, said Renette Parker, Missing Child Center Hawaii assistant coordinator. Only 3 percent of the abduction cases the center handles involves abductions by strangers, she said.
Lt. Bill Kato of the Honolulu Police Department's homicide detail, which handles missing-persons cases, has additional tips for children:
>> Always check with your parents before leaving home for school and let them know where you will be, with whom you will be and what time you are coming home. Let your parents know if there is a change in plans.
>> Don't play alone. Play with other children who can attract attention or help you get away if a stranger approaches.
>> Don't be afraid to scream or yell for help if a stranger or anybody approaches and says anything to you that makes you feel uncomfortable.