The Lessons Learned From Jaycee Dugard’s Kidnapping

Like most parents, I’ve been captivated by the heart-wrenching story of Jaycee Lee Dugard and her family’s ordeal. Losing a child is every parent’s nightmare, but what – if anything – can parents learn from the details of this horrible kidnap and rape?

I ask in earnest because I’m seeing lots of stories and posts about keeping your children safe – as if in the past parents were not protecting their children. On the San Francisco Chronicle’s website there is an informative story about just this very thing. If you have time I suggest you read it in it’s entirety.

Basically, Amy Graff of the Mommy Files (a really good blog to keep your eye on, btw) questions whether or not the “how to” articles on protecting our children are helping or feeding fears. It’s a good point – does information about kidnapping keep you from allowing your child from doing things you might normally let him or her do? I don’t know, but I do think that my own awareness gets sharper after reading such information. But what about the overall statistics on violent crime against children?

Overall crime is down in the U.S. Children are safer than in decades past but parents are more aware of the potential for harm. More kids are walked to the bus stop, or walked/driven to school than in the past, decreasing the opportunity for abductions. But what about other harms, like car accidents? It’s enough to make one’s head swim with fright.

It’s clear that the local law enforcement of Contra Costa County has much to learn – but do we as parents? Graff references Lenore Skenazy and her book Free Range Kids, which makes the case for giving today’s children more freedom while still understanding the risks. Skenazy’s take on lessons to be learned is this, “sometimes, terrible things happen to innocent people, randomly. In our blame-, lawsuit- and silly advice-obsessed country, it’s a lesson we find hard to accept.”