Teaching Your Kids About Stranger Danger

July 18, 2002 -- Following the murder of Samantha Runnion and the abduction of Elizabeth Smart, parents across America are asking how they can keep their children safe.

In dramatic video that Court TV shared with Good Morning America, children who were approached by a stranger on a playground willingly talked to — and in some cases walked off with a man they did not know. The man was actually just acting the part of an abductor.

"Have you seen my granddaughter's dogs? Little Snowflake and Snowball? Have you seen them?" child safety expert Ken Wooden asked on the tape. "Would you help me look for them? Have you seen this dog?"

Wooden pretended to have lost two puppies, a common ploy used by child abductors. Horrified parents watched on a monitor as their children eagerly helped Wooden find his lost dog. Shockingly, some kids even left the park with him.

"When you're in a setting like this, well they're just like, you know, like, they feel safe and they're having a good time. Those words of wisdom go out the window," said one mother.

"Oh my God," said another mom, who watched her daughter leave with Wooden. "Already I'm horrified. She knows the stranger rule, she knows not to just kind of go walking off."

Paranoid Children Stay Alive

J.J. Bittenbinder, a leading child safety expert warns that parents should not be worried that they will scare their children by warning them about strangers.

"Parents today say they don't want to make their children paranoid," Bittenbinder said. "But the paranoid children stay alive. Too many parents think they will only make their children afraid."

Parents should teach their children to shout out "stranger!" to get the attention of adults everywhere.

"And if they need help, they should grab an adult and hold onto them until they have the person's attention," Bittenbinder said. "Also, kids should stay together. They are stronger together."

Run From Cars

In more than 90 percent of these abductions, one child is taken. It is rarely two, and never, three, he said.

Also, children should be taught to never go up to a car.

"If a car pulls up to them, they should run in the opposite direction, it's much harder for a driver to back up the car or turn it around," Bittenbinder said.

If a child is being grabbed, they should wave their arm in a big circle like a windmill. If somebody is bigger and stronger than them, and has grabbed them, they cannot pull away. But by rotating their arm forward in a big circle, the person can't get hold of her, and she turns the person's hand inside out, where they are weakest.

It's much easier for a child to do that, than just trying to pull away, he said. They should also just slip out of their jacket if that allows them to run away.

Here are some extra tips:

Teach your children in whose car they may ride. If a stranger asks for directions or assistance, the child should tell them to ask an adult.

Create an atmosphere in your own home where your children feel safe confiding information about uncomfortable experiences.

Make sure your children know their address and telephone numbers, and how to use the telephone. Make certain they do not tell anyone who callsthat they are home alone.

If a child is on a bicycle and someone tries to grab them off, they should hug the bike so that someone would have to pick up both the child, and the bike, which is too bulky.

If the child gets stuck inside a car, they can either open the door, jump into the backseat and go out the back door, or stick something in the ignition, such as gum, a button or a stick.