Tricky People Update: Set Your Family PIN!
I wanted to share an AWESOME, super smart tip that every family should implement. It piggybacks on my “Tricky People, the New Stranger” post I wrote back in August….
**If you haven’t read this post yet, even if you are not a parent yet, or even if you are a grandparent, or if you know someone that has a child, DO IT! Read it now. It could save your/a/that child’s life someday.
But I write this with a heavy heart, as the reason I am bringing this up again is because of a local girl that was recently abducted and murdered as she walked 3 blocks to a park to meet up with friends to walk to school together. Jessica Ridgeway was 10 years old, she never made it those three blocks.
Three blocks. YOU CAN SEE HER HOUSE FROM THE PARK, THAT IS HOW CLOSE IT IS.
Her alleged murder has been arrested and is in custody. He is 17 years old. He can not even VOTE for one of our crappy presidential candidates in a few weeks.
That is terrifying on so many levels. And I don’t want to go there.
But since this post, I heard another tip that I don’t think is on any of those links I provided in the original one. And if it is somewhere in there, I can’t find it so I’m posting it again.
Every family should have a secret code word. Like, your family PIN number. The only people that know the code word are the ones that your kids can “go with.”
Right? DOESN’T THAT MAKE TOTAL SENSE?!?!
Let’s say you are running late at work and need your neighbor to pick up Sophie at school, but she doesn’t know that neighbor Mallory is going to pick her up, little Sophie can say to neighbor Mallory “well then what is the code word?” and Mallory knows the code word because you trust her and you gave it to her and so Sophie hops in and buckles up and off they go.
But, let’s say Uncle Ron shows up at school and little Sophie is confused, “Uncle Ron isn’t supposed to be here to pick me up today, mom didn’t say anything about that.” and Uncle Ron says “Let’s go, mommy and daddy have to work late.” but little Sophie feels weird about it because she hasn’t seen uncle Ron in a while and asks “well, what is the code word?” and Uncle Ron says “Oh, your mommy forgot to tell me that but it’s ok, come on, let’s go.” Hopefully little Sophie knows well enough not to go with Uncle Ron. Because little does she know that Uncle Ron has a drinking problem and hasn’t spoken to her mom or dad in over 9 months…..
See, good talk to have. But it sucks that we have to have these conversations and worry our children and have them learn WAY earlier than we would like, that we live in a pretty f’ed up world. But we can’t turn a blind eye to it. Ignorance, in this case, is not bliss.
