If you are a parent with a child that attends school and is at the age to hang outside with friends, safety should be of the utmost importance to you. Someone can grab your child and be gone in a matter of seconds in the right situation. This means that just like you should practice fire safety, you should practice self defense techniques designed for kids.

You may need to be trained yourself so you could learn martial arts with your child which would be the perfect opportunity for some real quality time. Not only will you and your child learn the self defense skills that could save both of your lives, you will become more confident, healthier and you even get to spend some time with your child that doesn’t involve sitting in front of the television set. It really is something you should consider.

Besides martial arts, there are some basic self defense moves for kids that you can practice with your child that could save them from being taken by a stranger. Here is a great video showing a basic set of self defense moves you can show to your child http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wMHyrtr6UU.

You may also want to think about some type of self defense device that is suitable for use by children. There really are only two that come to mind: the Kubotan and the Personal Alarm.

A Kubotan is small metal, wood or plastic rod that is carried on a key chain. They can come in both blunted and pointed forms which serve different purposes.

The blunted Kubotan is designed for use on bony parts of the body such as the sternum, hands, elbows, shins, knees, jaw and cheeks just to name a few bony strike points.

The pointed Kubotan is designed to do the most damage on fleshy parts of the body and is great for attacking the eyes, stomach, groin and throat of an attacker.

A Personal Alarm is also perfect for even smaller children and should be accompanied with some instructions on what you want your child to do after they utilize their Personal Alarm. The obvious instruction should be to try and run for help while screaming stranger.

Bear in mind though, that both of these items are meant for your child to use while they are not under your direct supervision. They may or may not be allowed to be in your child’s possession within school grounds so do your due diligence and verify with the school.

With self defense for kids the goal here is not to raise a paranoid child but instead to raise a well informed and prepared child. Bad things happen to kids every day and many could have been averted but using just a little prevention.

Stay safe!

The Judge