PICTOU COUNTY
Staying safe
Take some steps with your children so they know what to do in a threatening situation with strangers
Kelli Cruickshank has made it her life’s passion to help girls be safe.
It isn’t done with force or bubble wrap, rather with confidence and knowledge.
In the past five years, she and her husband, Chris, have taught 300 girls between ages five and 14 how to deal with situations that could put them in danger.
“We try and train them to think, follow their intuition and plan in their head to be prepared,” she said as she prepares two self-defence classes this weekend. “We talk a lot about prevention. We talk about being in safe locations and why your parents need to know where you are going to be.”
But there is some throat punching as well. Maybe not the actual punch, but at least giving the children some simple techniques to use in a case they are in a situation that requires them use their own strength to get away.
Cruickshank said the classes are not meant to scare the children, but to let them learn from her own experiences and others as well as instilling them with confidence that they can look after themselves.
There is also a lot of sharing, but it is usually the scenarios from the children that are scarier than anything she can tell them.
“You would be surprised and most parents would be surprised with what the kids come with because of the television they are watching and the games they are playing or even life experiences.”
She said she has gotten calls from parents after her classes concerned about some of the information she had told the kids, in particular about not having to kiss or hug anyone who makes uncomfortable, including family members.
“I will field those phone calls any day of the week because those kids are learning they can stand up for themselves,” she said. “I will tell them, ‘You guys are smart enough to know that I don’t mean start being sassy to your parents,’ I am telling you if some person is making you feel uncomfortable, you have every right to say no.”
Cruickshank said interest in self-defence has peaks and valleys. Usually when something happens in the news, like recently at a Truro hotel where a group of girls were threatened by a man to come with him, her phone will start ringing.
“I will take advantage of that if it means I will have 30 girls come and listen to what is being said.”
Her classes cover everything from cyber safety, personal relationships to hotel safety all with the same message to be smart.
“The reason why we talk hotel safety is because it is a building of strangers and people are relaxed and let their guard down,” she said. “It’s not that you don’t trust your children, it is that people who want to harm you will target you. It is a place where people let their guard down.“
She said people learn from a young age to keep their valuables close and protected so why are children any different?
“If you are pushing a cart through a grocery store, your purse is in front of you or when you leave it in the car, it is hidden. When we go to places with our kids, we are more lax about things and what is more important than your children? A lot of parents take for granted that their kids will know what to do, but they don’t.”
“I will tell them, ‘You guys are smart enough to know that I don’t mean start being sassy to your parents,’ I am telling you if some person is making you feel uncomfortable, you have every right to say no.” Kelli Cruickshank