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Thursday 12 May, 2005    Home > News > The Princeton Packet > Packet Top Stories

		Packet Top Stories
Home Page Archives Classified Ads Business Journal Real Estate Employment Automotive Special Sections Food & Drink Health News Pet of the Week Announcements Print Ads The Beacon The Cranbury Press Hopewell Valley News Hillsborough Beacon The Lawrence Ledger The Manville News The Messenger-Press The Princeton Packet Packet Top Stories Packet News Packet Sports Packet Opinions Packet Obituaries Packet Contact Us Register-News The South Brunswick Post Windsor-Hights Herald National Finance About Us Feedback Visit Princeton Useful Links Advertising Info SEARCH LOG IN!   SECTION LINKS VisitPrinceton.org			Kids taught to protect themselves By: Emily Craighead, Staff Writer 05/10/2005 Email to a friend    Voice your opinion    Printer-friendly Staff photo by Frank Wojciechowski Anthony Calandra, 6, of West Windsor flails away at a well-protected West Windsor police Sgt. Robert Garofalo in a program designed to help kids "resist aggression defensively." First radKIDS class graduated at West Windsor Police Department.    WEST WINDSOR — The police department here graduated its first class of radKIDS Friday.    Children between 5 and 7 years old were taught how to "resist aggression defensively" during a 10-hour, family-centered safety-education program. The program emphasizes decision-making skills as well as physical resistance options to escape violence.    It is open to children from 5 to 12 years old.    "The age group is perfect," Sgt. Robert Garofalo said. "Five to 7 (years old) is when they're starting to ride their bikes, go to school by themselves."    During their training, the children learned to escape from dangerous situations, such as abduction, bullying, child abuse and sexual assault.    "We're not telling anyone a 5-year-old can defeat a 35-year-old man, but a pedophile is looking for a quiet way to draw the kid away," Sgt. Garofalo said.    He pointed out that many people have seen kids throwing temper tantrums in the mall and would most likely ignore a child kicking and screaming.    "But if you tell a kid to say, 'Stay back, you're not my dad,' people will listen," Sgt. Garofalo said.    Other radKIDS curriculum topics include home, school and vehicle safety, out-and-about safety, and self-realization of personal power.    The program gives children three rules to live by. First, "No one has the right to hurt me, because I am special." Second, "I don't have the right to hurt anyone else, unless they try to hurt me and then I stop them." And finally, "If anyone tries to hurt me, trick me or make me feel bad inside, it's not my fault — so I can tell."    The program is part of a national network that provides training and support to community-based organizations, including police departments, educational organizations or civic groups. The West Windsor Police Department is one of four organizations offering radKIDS in New Jersey. ©PACKETONLINE News Classifieds Entertainment Business - Princeton and Central New Jersey 2005 Email to a friend    Voice your opinion    Printer-friendly    Top

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