SWFL tots learn to avoid “stranger danger”

CAPE CORAL, Fla.- Schools in Southwest Florida are getting creative in an effort to arm your children with the tools needed for self-defense.

In the past year, the Cape Coral Police Department says they’ve had thousands of calls relating to suspicious vehicles or persons. In November 2015, there were four cases of attempted child abductions in Fort Myers in just one week. Many of those suspects were never caught.

A second grade class of 150 students at Rayma Elementary recently completed their 10-week lesson about “stranger danger.”

“They taught us that strangers are bad,” one student said.

“To not trust them,” another chimed in.

“Strangers are people that you don’t know, but they are really not safe, and you don’t know what they could do,” a student said.

Once a week in gym classes, the students are taught how to defend themselves against strangers.

The idea to teach students “stranger danger” came from a teacher, who invited Master Noah Guak and his team from United Martial Arts. The martial artists volunteer their time.

“We see it all the time: kids encounter people they don’t know,” Guak said. “We need to make sure they can handle those encounters if they come into them.”

Guak led a lesson Monday, teaching students to resist, call attention to themselves and find a trusted adult if they become involved in a threatening situation with strangers.

The children graduated from the program Thursday, Jan. 14.