This is especially important in this day and age when kidnapping children happens more frequently than we’d all like to imagine.
As previously mentioned, Judo was founded by a small old man.  He weighed 87 pounds at his peak.  If it’s not already obvious, Judo can teach a weak child how to defend him/herself against a bigger and/or stronger opponent.  Judo is based on a philosophy of “maximum efficiency and minimal effort”, which means that brute force and overpowering strength are not always the avenues to success.  By properly understanding body movements, leverage, balance, and the use of an opponent’s momentum, as well as gravity itself, a small person can easily overpower a large person.  I personally like this for my children because I have a bit more confidence that they could defend themselves against a full-grown adult.  A skilled child Judoka can easily defend against, or even disable, a full-grown adult.  This is especially important in this day and age when kidnapping children happens more frequently than we’d all like to imagine.  Would you like to think your child could deter a kidnapper?