Protecting your kids when you're not there

[Niceness8000]

I am a firm believer in my children taking self-defense classes from an early age. This is non-negotiable in my household. My reason is because a friend of mine is dealing with her daughter being abducted from right in front of her own home. The daughter has been missing for years, but the authorities are still saying that they do not believe she is actually dead. Their lives are completely turned upside down now. They cannot find any real "normalcy" in their day-to-day activities. I can't imagine the anguish of going through that - not being able to do anything to protect your child. What do you think?

 

[Hedonologist]

The main thing I am doing to keep my kids safe is saving money up to move to a better location. I suppose at the end of the day though, you can run but you can't hide! Almost everywhere is going downhill and you'll always encounter some problems. I am keen on teaching a certain proficiency in self defense.

 

[Bear]

Well, for the most part I try to be there as much as I can. They don't play outside without myself or their mother right there. I do like the idea of self-defense classes and my three year old is very interested in karate. I don't think she is quite old enough though. I believe they have to be four.

 

[Victor Leigh]

Learning self-defense is a good idea. However, even if you cannot find a place to send your children to learn self-defense, you can still teach them some self-preservation skills. The first thing you can teach them is to avoid potentially fight-positive situations.

 

[themdno]

I think at least some basic self-defense is good. I think it has a lot to do with mentality, and being prepared. The girl that you speak of, that was abducted, was probably not ready, in any way. She felt safe, and that's why she wasn't. As long as our kids know to be cautious, and we don't shelter them too much, mixed in with a little self-defense skills, they will be relatively safe out there.

 

[Jeremy Green]

I am also an avid support of self-defense classes. I wouldn't let my kids do mma, which many seem to be doing these days. Something more like a traditional arts like karate, wrestling, or jiu jitsu. I think this gives them the capabilities to defend theirselves if they are every in a precarious situation.

 

[themdno]

I am also an avid support of self-defense classes. I wouldn't let my kids do mma, which many seem to be doing these days. Something more like a traditional arts like karate, wrestling, or jiu jitsu. I think this gives them the capabilities to defend theirselves if they are every in a precarious situation.

Just curious, why wouldn't you let them do MMA? MMA is just a mixture of all those fighting styles you listed. From what I understand, it's a combination of all the most useful aspects of each of those styles.

Personally, I'd let my kids pick what they are interested in, and run with that. Any style would be good, and MMA would be good, too, IMO.

 

[mkbashar1979]

My mother will protect my daughter when i am not here.It is a big advantage of a collision family.

 

[youngone]

I think everyone should learn basic self-defense skills, adults and children. However, I wouldn't force my son to go to self-defense classes if he didn't want to. I will ask him if he would like to learn self-defense and hopefully he will say yes.

 

[roncar]

Having taught Karate for over 20 years, I wish my two girls would let me teach them. But they are so headstrong (stubborn) and don't want to even learn a few basic moves. I would feel a lot more comfortable with them out in the world if they did know how to protect themselves.