This weekend 3 girls who are in 2nd grade with my daughter were almost abducted. A man came into a fenced in backyard where they were playing and saying he lost his puppy and could they help in exchange for candy. The girls almost helped him but decided not to when he came closer. They were trying to back away when he tried to grab them. It was an older man that was bald on top with hair around the ears that was longer. They ran to the tree house and where screaming when the dog chased him out of the yard. It took only a short time for this to happen and by the time the mom came outside she only saw the man running out of her yard.
I live in a very good area but am close to Toledo, OH. About 5 years ago a man from Toledo came over the line into MI and tried to abduct kids from the playground of a private school, but it's never happened at the school my kids go to (a small farm area). They are not sure if the guy came from Toledo or not, but that's not my point. Always keep an eye on you kids even if they are in your fenced in back yard. It makes me sick to think about what could have happened. Kids are so trusting even though they are told not to talk to strangers.
Stuff like this scares the daylights out of me... We live in a great area too, and I just cant imagine how parents let their kids come to the playground by our house alone. Little kids, like 5 years old, by themselves and will come up to our windows to ask to see our dog and cat. One even asked if they could come inside!!! I was like, "No way little guy, not without your parents!" But I did hold the dog up to the window so he could see him. He was talking with my 3 year old through the screen. ....I just cant let my kids outside by themselves. I guess I'm just not trusting enough of people.
My goodness, some people have no sense. There are TONS of kids out there by themselves everyday. My neighbor actually went and sat with one little girl one morning....the girl was 3!!!!! She was just out there by herself playing, and after about an hour she was just wandering around looking around, so my neighbor went out and asked her name and where her mommy was. Turns out, her mommy was at work, and her babysitter didnt want to go outside, so she just sent her out!!! My neighbor called the police, and they came and the babysitter was inside asleep.
Like I said, it's a great area and thankfully nothing like that has happened around here, but I just can't chance it!! Maybe the parents take for granted that it's a safe neighborhood, and that there are always other parents watching outside should something happen, but geeez!
It really is sad that there are people out there who would hurt a child. I have a leash for my 2 year old - well it's a monkey backpack with a leash on it. 
Fortunately he loves it b/c he isn't going anywhere without it.
As for that babysitter, that's just pure negligence and child endangerment. This is why I'm a stay-at-home-mom! Only I am capable of taking proper care of my kids.
Same for me I am a stay at home mom cause I don't trust putting my kids in daycare it is to risky I am always worried something is going to happen. I now let me oldest play out side because we are on the corner of the street dead end and in the far back of the neighborhood and most important I can see his friends houses all from my front yard. I always go out and check on him and he does walk to the neighborhood park but only when it is a group of kids going never alone age ranges from 7 to 13 in the group so I trust them when they go there but the park is straight down the street from our house.
I worry about him all the time but I have made it a big thing to tell him he does not talk to anyone he does not know and also never takes anything from anyone and he never ever goes close enough to a stranger when they are talking to him.. and I told him to scream I don't know you and scream it over and over while running away.. This is always even if I am there with him cause sometimes your eyes are down in a book or looking at something go by anything can happen even with you near.. so I think I have made sure hes aware but I can never be to sure..
I did this all because when we first moved here he had made a friend with one of the girls about three doors down and asked if he could go play I told him yes and walked with him over there. I told him I would come get him not to leave so I went to go get him and he is not there and they dont know where he went.. Well now i am scared and dont know what to do so I get in my car and ride up to the park even thou its in walking distance I wanted to get there as fast as possible. he was not there so I went around the block not there. so now I am freaking out where did he go and I know at this time there is a sex offender on our block and I am thinking bad things I start crying in the middle of the street cause we looked for about 30 mins and no finding him I thought something happened to him.. so my dh comes out of the house and say Amanda hes a kid and probably at a different friends house well i didnt know any other ones yet and after a few mins of standing there my son comes out of the house across the street. I started crying more and he just looked at me and I could see this disappointment in his eyes like he was so so sorry he did not mean to scare me so now I know where all the kids live and their parents and he knows if he goes from one house to the other he comes home first to tell me all the houses are about three doors down and all right on the same part of the street..
I probably would have been crying too Amanda. I try to be so positive, but in a situation like this I would have feared the worst.
I'm so glad to see I'm not the only protective parent out there. It's such a balancing act of letting kids grow up to be who they are and enjoy life while wanting them not out of your sight for 2 seconds because of fear and all the creeps in the world.
You know things are so much different now then they were 25-30 years ago. I remember when I was 5 or 6 I was outside playing by myself. I'm not saying that things like this didn't happen, but it was so much safer back then. No wonder so many kids stay inside and play video games. I don't allow my kids to go outside without me being there. You just can't trust people these days. It's really sad that the world has come to this. Sick people!!
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