Kids in the Know

In the last post, I mentioned a program called Kids in the Know which teaches students safety around sexual abuse prevention. Please review the 7 Root Safety strategies from that post. This week we discussed lures that are commonly used by people the students do not know. Each lure was explained and then students had to identify which lure was being used in different scenarios presented. In many, there was more than one lure being used. We also discussed strategies.


What are the lures?

1. Help lure: an adult or teenager tries to lure a child by asking for help.
2. Gift lure: an adult or teenager tells a child s/he will give them something they want (ie. a CD, clothes, a videogame, etc.) if the child goes with him/her.
3. Threat lure: an adult or teenager threatens to hurt a child or someone the child cares about, if they do not comply with his/her request.
4. Name lure: an adult or teenager pretends to know a child by saying the child's name, and says it is okay for the child to go with them.
5. Breaking Rules/Breaking Boundaries lure: an adult or teenager wants to hang out with a child and become the child's friend; this can include both online and offline. He/she might encourage or let the child do things the child's parents/guardians would not allow including asking sexual questions, sharing inappropriate sexual jokes, or showing sexual pictures or videos.
6. Emergency lure: an adult or teenager tells a child that there has been an emergency (ie. fire, accident, etc.) and that the child needs to go with them immediately so they can take the child to their parents.
7. Authority lure: an adult presents as an authority figure, wearing a uniform(ie. police officer, meter reader, firefighter, etc.).
8. Game lure: the adult/teenager starts playing around with a child (ie. wrestling, tickling, etc.) to touch or look at private parts saying it is "just a game".
9. Famous lure: an adult or teenager leads the child to believe they can make them famous if the child meets with him/her somewhere alone or does what s/he says (without permission from the child's parent/guardian).
10. Compliments lure: the adult or teenager compliments the child to try to get the child to like them and then do something s/he wants, or to try to touch the child inappropriately.

I have encouraged the children to ask questions at home because it is important they get this information from you as well. I kept the discussion matter of fact, explaining that the students are old enough to know about these lures so that they can increase their personal safety to help them become strong, smart and safe. A good suggestion for having discussions around this topic is to sit side by side with your child (which takes away some of the awkwardness of eye contact) or even while travelling in the vehicle.


Please email me if you have any questions.