Choosing a self-defense program for your child

The Polly Klaas® Foundation highly recommends radKIDS, a comprehensive safety and self defense program for children.

If radKIDS is not available in your area, look for a program that:

• Has a positive empowering approach. Scaring children into safety interferes with learning.
• Emphasizes active physical practice, not just sitting and listening.
• Gives kids plenty of practice resisting adults' instructions. Because we teach our children to be obedient to adults, it takes repeated practice for them to learn that they can yell "no!", hit, and run away when in danger.
• Emphasizes being alert and avoiding danger whenever possible.
• Emphasizes using physical skills only as a way to escape. We have seen some programs that teach kids to fight rather than to escape. Effective fighting takes years to learn, while surprising an attacker with a yell and a blow, with the intent to escape, can be taught fairly quickly.
• Teaches children when it is appropriate to use these physical skills, so they don't turn around and use them on people who are not a threat.
• Has heavy emphasis and practice on seeking adult help when threatened or hurt. This includes calling 9-1-1, and identifying a safe adult to tell and ask for help when the parent is not available.
• Teaches children that if someone has hurt or tricked them in the past, or if it happens in the future, it is not the child's fault. 
• Full contact simulation. Many programs encourage kids to practice their escape skills on a full-size, padded aggressor. If this is something you'd like, find out what safety measures are taken to protect the children. At minimum, do they wear padded helmets, gloves, elbows and knee pads for simulation?
• Tailored for your child's age group, attention span, learning style, etc.
• Encourages parent participation and shares the curriculum with parents. Take-home instructional materials help parents continue the safety lessons with their children.

Please review the qualifications of the instructor, their teaching experience, how well they like working with children. Most importantly, have they been screened to work with children? (Anyone who teaches self-defense to children—in fact, anyone who works with children these days—should understand that parents expect and demand background checks.)