Teach your child to go to a woman if she is lost.

Why? First, if your child selects a woman, it's highly unlikely that the woman will be a sexual predator. Next, a woman approached by a lost child asking for help is likely to stop whatever she is doing, get down to the kid's eye level, commit to that child, and not rest until the child is safe. A man approached by the same child might say, ''Head over there to the manager's desk,'' whereas a woman is most likely to get involved and stay involved.

Is what I've said politically incorrect? Maybe so, but the luxury of not running for office is that I don't care if it's politically incorrect. The fact is that men in all cultures and at all ages and at all times in history are more violent than women - and facts are not political.

''If you are ever lost, go to a woman'' works because it's practical (there will almost always be a woman around) and simple (easy to teach, easy to learn, easy to do). Finally, teaching children to choose someone rather than wait for someone to choose them will be a useful lesson their whole lives. It's the same advice I give to adult women.