Reply to Would you let a 6th grader stand at the bus stop by herself?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes, I would do it.  [b]But also be aware the middle school aged girls are the group most commonly kidnapped by strangers[/b][i][u].  Your daughter should be aware of the potential for danger so that she is relatively alert, and she should know what to do if she gets a creepy feeling about someone or something.    
I would also think twice if there was a situation like a construction project going on -- anything where someone from outside the neighborhood would be aware that she is regularly there by herself at a particular time.  Some of the general contractors pick up day workers without doing any sort of background or reference check.[/quote]

Source for this info?  And statistic about what number of middle school aged girls are actually kidnapped by strangers each year?[/quote]

Here's a quick reference to a [b]Parents article[/b] that borrows from the [b]FBI database[/b].  It indicates that about [b]180,000 children are abducted every year by strangers [/b](24% of the total number of child abductions per year of 750,000 in the year 2001).  Of those, 80% are abducted within a quarter mile of the home.  About 74% of the abducted children are girls.  
I can't find a ready cite for the fact that pre-teen or young teen girls are the most often targeted, but I know I've read that before in reputable places -- predators knows that the younger girls are less willing and able to fight back, and it seems to be an age group preferred by predators (like the awful man that kidnapped Elizabeth Smart, or the awful man in Cleveland that kidnapped all those girls).  A lot of abductions are also probably never reported, because 12 and 13 year old girls are pretty easily intimidated and shamed into not telling if they've been sexually assaulted.  
I recognize that its still a rare event, but you really can't say it's like a lightening strike thing.  (And, actually, I know a couple of people that were hit by lightening.)  You need to have your eyes open to the risks, know your neighborhood, and know your daughter's ability to recognize and respond to dangerous situations.   There was a girl followed home from one of the middle schools in Bethesda just about a month ago -- the girl was alert and took steps to protect herself, but the guy in question was obviously trolling for a pre-teen girl.
http://www.parents.com/kids/safety/stranger-safety/child-abduction-facts/

Parents magazine is the WORST source of any reliable information on this topic. It is full of fear mongering articles that are conveniently placed next to an ad for yet another "piece of mind" child safety gadget.

This data is totally misinterpreted. These are NOT child abductions. These are "REPORTED MISSING" cases. Which is anything from runaway teens, to mostly child custody disputes, i.e. a non-custodial parent shows up at a day care to pick up the child; the custodial parent calls the police. It gets immediately reported in the national database of missing and exploited children. Then the child is returned unharmed, but that is not reflected in this number. There are only about 150 stereotypical (i.e. by a total stranger, not a family member) child kidnappings per year. Here is a very good articles that explains this in detail: http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/explainer/2007/01/800000_missing_kids_really.html
Read this report too: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/196467.pdf

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