'Stranger danger' tips key to protecting kids

Toronto Police say a handful of recent child abduction attempts and a newly released security video that shows a little girl fighting off a man inside a U.S. store underscore the need to teach kids about "stranger danger."

Police say there were four attempted child abductions in Toronto this week, including one Tuesday on College Street when a man grabbed a 10-year-old boy and tried to drag him away.The boy managed to fight him off and flee.

In another case on Thursday near Bloor and Dufferin, police say a nine-year-old girl was walking home for lunch when a strange man pulled up and asked her to get into his car, promising a treat.

"The girl did the right thing," said Toronto Police Const. Tony Vella. "She said no, she refused the ride."

In each Toronto case, the children managed to get away.

Then dramatic surveillance video emerged this week showing what appears to be an attempted abduction of a seven year-old Brittany Baxter at a Wal-Mart store in Georgia.

In the surveillance video, a man is seen carrying Baxter through the store. As he walks down the aisle with her in his arms, Baxter kicks, squirms and screams until the man is forced to set her down and run away.

Police, who later arrested a suspect in the case, say Baxter did the right thing.

The girl told reporters she learned how to protect herself at a "stranger danger" course at school.

'You have to educate your children'

Const. Vella said the cases illustrate the importance of teaching kids how to react if someone tries to take them or lure them into a car.

"You have to educate your children," Vella told CBC News. "You have to reinforce to kids to never accept rides, it has to be second nature to them."

Vella said a common tactic of child abductors is to lure children into a car using a fake story, such as telling kids they were sent by parents whove been hurt in an accident.

To guard against this, Vella suggest parents establish a code word with their children for use in such cases.

Toronto police also offered the following tips to protect children against potential abductors.

Teach your child:

• Their name, age, telephone number including the area code, address, city and province
• How to contact you, the police, fire department, or ambulance service in the event of an emergency.
• To keep you informed as to their whereabouts at all times.
• Never to admit to being alone in the home when answering the telephone.
• Never to invite strangers into the house or answer the door when home alone.
• Never to approach or enter a strangers car.
• Never hitchhike.
• That a police officer is a friend who can be relied upon when he/she is lost or needs help.
• Never to play alone, always be with friends.