I'm a child safety expert – parents MUST follow my advice to keep kids safe from abduction | The Sun

A CHILD safety expert has warned parents must follow his advice to keep kids safe from abduction.

Geoff Newiss – director of kids' charity Action Against Abduction – said the classic 'stranger danger' warnings do not work.

Most strangers want to help rather than harm kids – and it is often people known to children that pose the greatest threat, he stressed.

Instead, he urges parents to adopt his charity's Clever Never Goes advice.

This sees kids learn when someone is asking them to go with them – a technique he calls "spotting".

Children should never go with anyone – even if they know them – if this hasn't been arranged with a parent in advance.

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Geoff said the skill is "about giving your child practical safety skills and confidence to engage with the outside world".

He told the Sun: "Many parents that we talk to want to give their children time outdoors but are anxious about how to keep them safe.

"The risk of someone trying to lure them away might be small, but it’s still pretty much every parent’s worst nightmare. 

"Children are spending more and more time online, but that too can leave parents with concerns about who their children are communicating with and the possibility that they’ll arrange to meet someone in person who might harm them. 

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"We have created Clever Never Goes to help parents keep children safe both online and in the outside world.

"The whole ethos of Clever Never Goes is to give children the skills to recognise and respond to those rare occasions when they might be in danger.

"It’s about moving away from the fear that comes with stranger danger."

Geoff also advises parents to give their kids the freedom to be independent – but teach them to do it safely.

He added: "As children get older and are given more independence, for example to walk to school on their own, we need to be giving them confidence to interact safely with their surroundings, rather than terrifying them about the possible threat from all people they don’t know."

He said kids should be regularly reminded of the Clever Never Goes advice to ensure they practice it in the future.

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A study earlier revealed how millions of parents feel powerless to protect their kids online.

And experts revealed their top ten tips to keep kids safe at home.

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