Empowerment, my ass
A good right hook, however, may do it:
Following the news that a sex offender had moved into the town, parents are looking to adopt a new child education program called radKIDS, that attempts to teach children what to do if they are assaulted by adults.
The “rad” in radKIDS stands for resisting aggression defensively. According to radKIDS founder and former police officer Stephen Daley, his program gives children what other programs such as DARE don’t — empowerment.
“We teach children that no one has the right to hurt them because they are special, and that is the beginning of empowerment,” said Daley to the crowd of 35 teachers, parents and police officers during the Sunday afternoon presentation.
According to Daley, through radKIDS training children become empowered, learning to replace the fear, confusion and panic of dangerous situations with confidence, personal safety skills, and self-esteem.
The program, which combines tips on everything from fire safety and warding off bullies with a healthy dose of child self-defense moves, may soon see its way into York schools if Suzanne Heyland, a local parent, has her way.
First, it’s my job to protect my child. I realize that and I will do everything I can to do so. However, I won’t need the touchy-feely, tree-hugging, self-esteem, empowerment crap. The self defense stuff, safety skills and knowledge of how to react in dangerous situations is a must and trumps that hippie crap any day. All the self-esteem in the world won’t stop a criminal. Knowledge of how to escape and fight, however, will.
