The STOPLight

Child Lures: A book review

Child Lures
by Kenneth Wooden
Copyright 1995, 82 pages

As disgusting and unthinkable as it may be, the threat of child sexual abuse is real. The statistics are staggering: In a 1994 National Institute of Health survey, 453 pedophiles were interviewed. Collectively, they confessed to having molested 67,000 children - an average of 148 victims per offender! It is estimated that 20% of girls and 7% of boys will experience some kind of sexual abuse before reaching age 18. As a parent or guardian you want to do everything in your power to keep your child from becoming part of these statistics.

In his book Child Lures, Kenneth Wooden provides the best defense against child predators--knowledge. His research included hundreds of interviews with convicted child molesters incarcerated around the country. This research forms the heart of the book describing 15 "lures" pedophiles use to snare their victims.

Although the information it contains is very valuable, what makes Child Lures extremely effective is the format in which the information is presented. The book is meant to be a guide for parents and children to read together. For this reason half the book is designed for children. The parts aimed at children are shaded and written at a 2nd grade level. If this is too advanced for your children, don't worry, they should have no trouble understanding the concepts if it is read to them.

Wooden starts by giving instructions on how to use the book and follows that with a description of a molester. He then designates one chapter to each of 15 lures used by molesters, citing how to recognize and avoid them, and ending with simple practice scenarios for parents and kids to try at home.

The half of the book designated for children is written to warn and educate but not frighten them unnecessarily. Throughout the book Wooden continually reassures kids that most adults would never hurt them. On the other hand the parent's guide is morbidly descriptive, citing actual cases where serial killers used these lures to hook victims. For that reason some parents might feel the need to censor their portion of this book.

You might be wondering why a book on child molestation is being reviewed by a publication focused on prostitution. As it turns out, the two issues are fundamentally related. Statistics show that 85% of all prosti­tutes were sexually abused as children.

In closing, I have a personal recommendation. If you choose to use this book or any like it, supplement it with books like Where Did I Come From? or What's Happening To Me? These will provide an up-front description of anatomy and sex as a basis for open dialogue with your child on those subjects. As uncomfortable as these topics may be for you to discuss, it is vital information if your children are to protect themselves from pedophiles. To quote one of the molesters Wooden interviewed, "Give me a kid who knows nothing about sex, and you've given me my next victim."

reviewed by Bryn Meyer