Lately the topic of safety and being streetwise has been flashing through the internet every so often. No doubt there are creepy people out there and we must make sure we protect ourselves as much as we can. And it can already be a tough gig to maintain your alertness as an adult, but what about our little ones who are slowly but surely becoming more and more independent as the days go by? They sometimes go to school on their own, play with their friends in the neighborhood, or even go grocery shopping. So how do we make sure that our precious little youngsters know how to use their creep alarm so that a stranger (or sometimes even a person that they might know) won’t cause them any harm?
A viral video from Russia shows a little girl being followed home by a man who she then cleverly ditches. This inspired an episode on a self-defense YouTube channel and, of course, ignited debates in online communities.
The video that went viral shows a 9-year-old girl being followed home by some suspicious man who waited by the staircase until the girl got buzzed into the building
Image credits: Active Self Protection
A video from Russia captured a story on CCTV that could have had a tragic ending if not for this little kid's quick and clear thinking. In the town of Stupino, just over 60 miles away from Moscow, the creepy man from the video was arrested eventually after he followed a schoolgirl home, who managed to notice that fact in time and play a trick on him. It starts with the 9-year-old girl walking up to the front door, waiting for the door to open, and entering the building.
Image credits: Active Self Protection
The man who lingered at the bottom of the stairs by the front entrance manages to swiftly enter behind her. The child climbs the staircase to where the elevators are, but then, thanks to her quick thinking, turns the other way. In the meantime, the stranger enters the hall by the elevators and that’s when the girl takes the opportunity to sneak past him while he’s facing towards the elevators.
As she exits the building, the stalker seems to be caught in a moment of realization that his potential victim must have escaped, turns around, and also leaves the building. Then you can see the creepy old man exiting the building and crossing paths with the smart kid and her father, who was nearby.
The man slipped in behind the girl, acting suspiciously and having no clue that he was being filmed
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Instead of going to wait for the elevator, the girl quickly decided to change her direction as perhaps she realized that something was not right
Image credits: Active Self Protection
The creepy man realizes that the girl has vanished and decides to go and see where could she be
Image credits: Active Self Protection
As he makes his move, the girl has already fled past him as she caught a moment when the man wasn't watching
Image credits: Active Self Protection
The online debates accented how important it is for parents to teach their young children that they are capable of defending themselves and how to actually do it. According to the YouTube channel Active Self Protection, they don't always manage to transmit the importance of safety as they don’t want to scare them too much about the big bad world out there. But the Active Self Protection creators assure viewers that it’s essential to do it, but it has to be age-appropriate. They highlight that kids should have their “creep alarm” on and that “if something feels wrong—it probably is wrong and they should probably do something about it.”
And as she successfully managed to escape past the suspicious man, we then see her coming back accompanied by her dad and even walking past the creepy guy
Image credits: Active Self Protection
The Active Self Protection channel, following this spine-chilling video, took the opportunity to give some tips about safety and what are the best things to do in daily situations. Their created episode contains a few helpful tips on how to maintain your own safety and advises teaching your child to never ignore their creep alarm.
The Active Self Protection channel suggested some tips and tricks for parents and their children in order to stay safe
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Image credits: Active Self Protection
This online community educating the public on how to stay safe armed and unarmed brings attention to how important it is to teach children to trust their instincts and judge people by their actions, not necessarily by their appearance. After all, most children are likely to be critical of strangers who appear to be threatening and suspicious. But most stalkers and child abductors may look like regular people, even wear smart clothing and come across as pleasant.
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Active Self Protection analyzed the video and actions that the girl and also the creepy stranger took, saying that certain steps may or may not have worked. Deciding to get back out into a public space could be risky as the potential abuser or kidnapper might be able to take the child to another location. They also warned that abusers and kidnappers are absolute masters of staying camouflaged and that kidnappings by strangers could be much more dangerous for the person being taken away.
Image credits: Active Self Protection
Image credits: Active Self Protection
You can watch the video and the short episode of Active Self Protection here
And here is what people online thought about the story and the clever young girl. You can share your comments and experiences below
