Community Outreach-radKIDS Program

What is radKIDS?

The radKIDS Personal Empowerment and Safety Education Program is a revolutionary and proactive program designed to teach children between the ages of 5 and 12 special techniques to avoid and escape an abduction situation.  The program teaches realistic defenses against unwarranted attacks. 

According to the United States Department of Justice, more than 797,500 children are reported missing each year, resulting in an average of 2,185 children reported missing daily.  From that figure, an astonishing 203,900 are usually victims of family abduction, 58,200 are victims of non-family abduction, and 115 are victims of the “stereotypical” kidnapping. 

radKIDS

RadKIDS targets two student age groups; 5-7 year olds and 8-12 year olds.  Daily topics include dealing with strangers, good touch/bad touch and and self-defense techniques, such as blocking, striking and kicking.  Students also have the opportunity to practice and demonstrate the learned techniques on a blocking pad or on a punching dummy.  Before graduating, students participate in simulation exercises, wearing protective gear (helmet, gloves, knee and elbow pads).  During the exercise, the instructor also wears a full protective suit. The simulation part of the class enables each student to practice the skills they learned during their classroom training. The goal is for the students to implement the self-defense techniques they learned to get away from a possible abductor. 

The students are also taught to use loud verbal commands (i.e., NO, STOP, GET BACK YOU'RE NOT MY MOM/DAD) while demonstrating the physical techniques.  Students are taught the three important radKIDS rules;

1. No one has the right to hurt me - because I am special.

2. I don’t have the right to hurt anyone else (including themselves) unless they try to hurt me, and then I can stop them.  

3. If anyone tries to hurt me, trick me, or make me feel bad inside, it’s not my fault – so I can tell.

Since its implementation, more than eight hundred students have graduated from the program, which is taught at the local Palmetto Bay schools and also during our popular Summer Camp Program.