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1d, Sunday, Feb. 6, 1994 â€" Antoinettes..................... Century Childcare.......... Children‘s Choice...... Children‘s Garden.......... Creative Learing............. Edgeware Jr................... General Wolfe....::s.£ STREETPROOFING CHILD Child _ abduction. It‘s every parent‘s worst nightmare. A whole nation prayed for the safe return _ of threeâ€"yearâ€"old Kayla ... we all saw _ our _ own child‘s picture in the paper. A study at Western Michigan University _ sugâ€" gests that most young children are in fact easy prey for ‘child abductors. Approximately 90% of â€" preâ€" schoolers would easily, voluntarily, happily, go off with a stranger who simply coaxes a child with small talk or promises. At the same time, however, studies reveal that child molesters use physical force only 10â€"17% of the time. The majority try . to develop a quick relationship, coax the child, _ use incentives. Consequently, it is possible that many child abducâ€" tions can _ be prevented if chilâ€" dren can be taught how _ to resist the induceâ€" ments, and act quickly. Teaching prevenâ€" tion strategies to preschoolâ€"aged (3â€"5 year old) children presents some special problems. _ First, we can‘t assume that instructions or explanations â€" will be very helpful at this young age â€" that they will really understand _ the dangers, complex strategies or their 847â€"7747 849â€"3614 849â€"4769 844â€"4159 825â€"3284 849â€"7612 257â€"0022 845â€"8662 827â€"4204 KIOCHG ETE . .. 844â€"1094 Lakeshore Waldort... MUNMVEX .:« 2e is iess PÂ¥ o 257â€"0069 NGW 0s 0001 : 845â€"1444 z:s sn es Regional Munic. of Halton.. .. 825â€"8888/878â€"8113 rationale. In additâ€" ion, the 3â€"5 year old is just burâ€" geoning with new independence and _ mobility â€" going outside, to preâ€"school, to the park or a friend‘s house â€" and they haven‘t _ learned the limitations that go with it (eg getting lost; telling parents when they‘re going out, where they‘re going). Finally, kids are very impulsive at this age. Children playing _ outside can easily become interested in other children or activiâ€" ties and they are drawn to them, quickly disappearâ€" ing from a parent‘s sight and supervision. What can we do? Research at Western Michigan University _ sugâ€" gests we can quickly and easily teach children â€" even . preschoolâ€" ers â€" how to react to the lures of a stranger. Initially, the â€"reâ€" searchers surâ€" veyed _ parents, asking what they would like their child to do. Most parents preferred that children reâ€" fuse in a nice way ("No, I‘ve got to go ask my mommy (or teacher)", so as not to _ offend strangers who are actually just being nice. Second, parents _ wanted their child to get away from there, quickly. So, trainâ€" ing consisted of two goals: Say "No" in a nice By ARNIE RINCOVER way, and head toward safety (a parent or teacher) within 3 seconds. The second step was to find out what a "typical" abductor _ would say to the child, so the trainers could use similar "lures" during training and make it as realistic as possible. Interâ€" views . with child molesters revealâ€" ed 3 common types of lures. In the "simple lure", the suspect would first engage in small talk. After a few moments, the suspect would say, "would you like to go for a walk (ride, play a game, etc)?". In the "authority lure", the suspect would assure the child: that his/her parent or teacher said it was OK. In the "incentive lure" the suspect would try to entice the child, eg "I‘ve got a surprise for you in my car‘. The training conâ€" sisted of demonâ€" strations, practice and praise. Two trainers acted out a scene in the child‘s schoolyard, one playing the "suspect" and one playing the child‘s role.. The "susâ€" pect" tried to lure the "child" away, and the trainer playing the child‘s role demonstrated what to say and do. Then the child was asked to practice the same scene. The child was praised (and sometimes given stickers) if (s)he responsed apâ€" propriately: if (s)he did someâ€" thing . incorrectly, the trainer desâ€" cribed what was wrong and demonstrated the right way. Practice sessions were only _ 15 minutes per day, and each child learned the corâ€" rect way to react to each Ilure in only 1â€"3 sessions. The total training time required for all three lures was "up to 90 minutes" or 6 sessions. After training was complete, and the children knew what to do and say, the trainers "tested" each child several times in the _ community. Using new stranâ€" gers, in _ new settings, they found that the children _ consisâ€" tently used these new _ skills and quickly left the vicinity â€" of the stranger. This study showed that children as young as 3â€"5 years of age could be taught â€" how _ to avoid the lures of strangers. It does not provide all the answers, of course, since some _ abductors aren‘t â€" strangers but people the child knows, such as neighbors or acquaintances. While more reâ€" search is needed to see what will be effective in these cases, there is no question that teaching the chilâ€" dren how _ to respond to the lures of strangers can help _ to prevent many abductions. es isnn enbere 842â€"7169 St. Michael‘s All Angels... .... 842â€"9016 SIMON .... 338â€"1701 Springbank Childrens Centre. .... 825â€"3433 Time for TYyKke$....................... ... 842â€"4800 ....827â€"8943 Weeâ€"Care Daycare.. ... 845â€"0524 West Oakville...........