radKIDS {Natalee}

Natalee has been participating in a self awareness and advocacy program this week called radKIDS.  It's a wonderful program and I highly recommend it to anyone who has a child age 5+.  It was well worth my $15 fee and driving 30 minutes one way everyday for her to participate (okay - worth WAY more than that!).

The first day was a little rough for Natalee.  I didn't realize it, but she basically lived in a world of sunshine and rainbows, and even though we'd talked about stranger danger, good touch/bad touch and what to do if anything like that happened I don't think she fully believed that bad people exist in this world.  As a mother, it was heartbreaking to watch that bit of innocence slip away from her but also a relief to know she was grasping this concept and learning steps to take if a person - familiar or not - tried to take her without our permission.  Monday night was spent with a ton of tears and meltdowns over why anyone would ever try to take her or hurt her.  In a word - it was terrible.  However, Mike and I geared up, teamed up and helped her push through and are trying to turn that fear into action and make sure she knows what to do if something ever happened.

In addition to verbal and physical steps to take in the event of an abduction or attempted abduction, the class has covered fire safety, phone safety, dialing 911, dog safety, safe zones (a place with a trusted adult and/or a phone), gun safety, pool safety, and what to do if you get separated from your parents or the adult you are with (look for a mommy with kids and ask her for help).

^ Learning to block herself from attack. ^

It takes Natalee awhile to cycle through the processing of the proper steps and I'm very grateful for the one-on-one instruction and care she is receiving from the instructors.

Above is the position you take if a dog tries to attack you.  The other steps were to never look it in the eye (challenge dominance), back away slowly, use a bag as a shield if you have one, and then to lay down and cover your neck and hide your face if you are attacked.