Police Presence in My Neighborhood

One of the girls that gets on the bus with my middle schoolers was followed home. Actually a man in a SUV followed her than got out and followed her.  Ultimately, he started to chase after her. Thank God she made it to her house and her parents called the police.

The way I found out was my daughter. She was called into her school's office to speak to a police officer.

Basically, the police officer wanted to know if my daughter saw the SUV or saw anything that day - which she didn't. They were hoping for any details that the other girl might not have remembered or noticed.

Surprisingly, there was even a police car parked right next to the bus stop each afternoon since to make sure the girl got home alright.

I'm not concerned for my kids safety though and here's why.

Back Story
My youngest was approached about 3 years ago. A man and woman in a pick up truck tried talking to her while she was playing in our back yard. Luckily, my husband was inside our shed. He was just out of the couple's view, but still could see our daughter and hear everything going on.

He came out of our shed and confronted the couple. Got their descriptions along with the description of their vehicle. We notified the police and that was the last we heard of it.

So...here's why I'm not concerned about my kids' safety. Well within reason that is.

My kids know not to talk to strangers. They've demonstrated it on multiple occasions.

They are supervised at the bus stop. My kids are never alone when they are outside our house. I take my youngest out to the bus stop every morning. My middle schoolers are able to go out by themselves, but I watch them from the window. Plus there are about 10 kids at that bus stop each day.

Another thing - my kids cannot go in our back yard by themselves. We have a somewhat busy road next to our home, so there are frequently cars riding by. While our back yard is completely fenced, they still always need a buddy.

When our kids are older, we will require them to call to let us know when they get to a friends house and when they are leaving. That way we know to keep an eye out for them. This rule will apply when we are unavailable to drive them and pick them up.

I know not every parent is able to watch over their kids 24/7 because of work, but when you are home make it a point to keep an eye on your kids. It's not a matter of trusting your kids - it's a matter of protecting them from people with scary motives.

What are some ways you keep your kids safe when they are outside the home?