Code word idea is an easy way to protect child

Ariz. girl is safe because family had plan for stranger danger

If a stranger approached your child at a park here in Yuma, said there was an emergency, and told the child to get in the car, would your child know what to do?

Thanks to one family’s preparations, one 11-year-old girl in San Tan Valley did — and her actions led the suspect to drive away.

The incident happened last week, when the girl and her friend were walking by a park. Police said a man in a white SUV pulled up alongside the children, told the girl her brother had been in an accident, and that she needed to get in the SUV.

The girl, however, didn’t take the bait. She stayed calm, and instead, she asked the man for the family “code word” — which had been chosen ahead of time with her family in case of such a situation.

The man didn’t know the word and drove off.

“Kudos to the parents of this child for having a code word and talking to their children about stranger danger,” Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb said in a statement. “We hope by putting this out, it will encourage parents to have that conversation and create a plan with their children, so they know what to do if they are in that situation.”

The man has yet to be found, but according to a report on Fox 10 Phoenix, children in the neighborhood say the SUV had been circling the park several times a day.

However, the girl is safe, because she and her family thought ahead, and had a “code word” in place to prevent such a situation.

It’s terrifying to think of your child in a similar situation here in Yuma. However, a little planning and some conversation can instead prepare your child so he or she knows how to react if a moment such as this occurs.

This family’s planning likely saved their daughter’s life. Fortunately, their actions leading up to that moment are easy to duplicate at home — and it’s a step worth taking.

DO YOU AGREE WITH THIS OR NOT?

In September of 1983, I sent an article I found in a book about children, buses and school. You printed it as “Drive Safely.”

I drove a school bus for 30 years for Crane Schools. I’ve been retired now for 12 years.

When I’m driving in town doing errands, etc., I still think of that article you printed every time I see a school bus, or a bus stop with children waiting or getting off to cross. Please print this one. Somebody’s little boy was crossing the street. Innocent, young and fair.

He hadn’t the judgment of older folks, he didn’t see the danger there.

Somebody’s little boy had a song on his lips, but in an instant it died away; for a motorist ran the little boy down, he died at the close of the day. Somebody kneels by an empty bed, and fondles a little shoe. Somebody looks through the empty years. Suppose that someone was you.

Will you please watch out for these little tots, motorists in the city and town? For real, it’s one of the greatest, saddest crimes to run a little tot down.