Keep Your Children Safe, Stop Them from Running Amok

My mother and I were in a department store the other day, and there were three small children running through the store like it was a playground. The first thing I thought was how that parent would go into a frenzy, if those children came up missing!

It has been known and reported how the majority of kidnapped children are always taken from unattended cars, shopping areas, and sadly, but yes, playgrounds! I say this because I want to focus on how these children were obviously not being attended to during the time of kidnapping.

People we, as parents must be aware of our children at all times. I know you can't be with them everywhere they go, but at least you can be certain they are well attended to when they are. I have seen children in my neighborhood walking to the store by themselves...and get this; they're usually going to the store for their parents! Now, I know we all are a bit guilty of this. We feel as if the corner store is not that far, and what can happen to them in that short of a distance. But, this is where you're wrong! It's just that short of a distance needed to lose your child to either a violent crime or something worst!

So many times, parents find themselves saying, "They only went to the corner!", when five minutes later, they hear sirens and screams coming from the corner....and their child has been an innocent victim of a drive-by shooting.

Another point I would like to add, is the fact of youth roaming the streets at all hours of the night! What type of foolishness is this? How can a parent allow their child outside, roaming the streets after 8 PM? I can recall days when my mother was adamant about my cousin and I being in the house before the street lights came on....remember those days? We used to feel as if our parents were being mean to us, but it was for our own good! I'm thankful to my mother for that. Because all sorts of things happen in the streets during the night, and it's no place for a child!

Your child is out in the streets running amok, and you have no clue as to what he/she is doing, are being exposed to, or is engaging in. The best way to prevent this, is to keep your children disciplined and attended. Know who their friends are, where they are going to be, and always keep phone numbers to their friends' parents' homes, and it wouldn't hurt to have the friend's personal mobile number as well!