Moncton Forum

PROTECTING THE GIFT
Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe (and Parents Sane)

By Gavin de Becker

In PROTECTING THE GIFT, Gavin de Becker shares with readers his remarkable insight into human behavior, providing them with a fascinating look at how human predators work and how they select their targets and most important, how parents can protect their children. He offers the comforting knowledge that, like every creature on earth, human beings can predict violent behavior. In fact, he says, parents are hardwired to do just that.

PROTECTING THE GIFT provides a direct look at the strategies of predators, a study of how children are victimized, and a look at why. Understanding human violence empowers parents to protect their children more effectively. De Becker asks readers at the outset, "Of all the strategies you might bring to protecting your children, could ignorance about violence possibly be an effective one?"

Exploring issues surrounding child abduction, family violence, childcare workers, school safety, teenage dating, driving, drinking, and the often-deadly relationship between boys and guns, PROTECTING THE GIFT will enable parents to confidently answer some of life's highest stakes questions:

• How can I know a babysitter won't turn out to be someone who will harm my child?
• What's the best way to prepare my child to walk to school alone?
• What should I do if my child is lost in public?
• How can I spot sexual predators?
• How can I know if my child is being sexually abused?
• How can my kid's safety be improved?
• How can I know whether some friend of my child's might be dangerous?
• Is my own child displaying warning signs of future violence?
• What must my teenage son or daughter know in order to be safe?
• How can I teach my child about risk without causing too much fear?
• How can I reduce the worrying?

 

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THE GIFT OF FEAR



Gavin de Becker garnered widespread media attention with his bestselling book, THE GIFT OF FEAR, which revealed the practical lessons from his decades of studying violence for the purpose of protecting ourselves from the dangerous situations people typically face - street crime, domestic abuse, violence in the workplace. The book, which appeared on the New York Times bestseller list for four months and has been published in 13 languages, was featured multiple times on the Oprah Winfrey Show, ABC-TV's Prime Time Live, and Larry King Live, as well as the pages of Time and Newsweek, and was endorsed by every major women's magazine.   In THE GIFT OF FEAR, de Becker draws on his extensive expertise to explode the myth that most violent acts are random and unpredictable and shows that they usually have discernible motives and are preceded by clear warning signs. Through dozens of compelling stories from his own career and life, he unravels the complexities of violent behavior and details the pre-incident indicators (PINs) that can determine if someone poses a danger to us. With THE GIFT OF FEAR, readers learn how to: Recognize the survival signals that warn us about risk from strangers Rely on their intuition Separate real from imagined danger Predict Dangerous Behavior Evaluate whether someone will use violence Move beyond denial so that their intuition works for them Offering in-depth solutions to people who are dealing with domestic abuse or workplace violence or who are the targets of unwanted pursuit, de Becker also provides unique insight into death threats, stalkers, assassins, children who kill, and mass killers. After reading THE GIFT OF FEAR, individuals will be able to confidently answer life's highest-stakes questions: Will the employee I must fire react violently? How should I handle the person who refuses to let go? What is the best way to respond to threats? What are the dangers posed by strangers? How can I help my loved ones be safer? With THE GIFT OF FEAR, Gavin de Becker has written an important book about human behavior, one which leaves readers stronger and safer. It put fear and violence on the national agenda in a way that empowered millions of people.   ~~   His firm that was selected to develop threat assessment systems for:   State Police Agencies Protecting Ten Governors Twenty Five University Police Departments United States Supreme Court Police United States Marshals Service United States Capitol Police Defense Intelligence Agency Central Intelligence Agency   ====================================   This Post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific,  social and criminal justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes  'Fair Dealing' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Canada's Copyright Law. The material in this Post is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.  The Canadian Copyright Act provides that "fair dealing" with any material protected by copyright for the purposes of private study, research, criticism, review or news reporting is not an infringement of copyright. Fair dealing with a work does not require the permission of the copyright owner or the payment of royalties.