Continuity mistake: When Buffy is discussing the Turok-Han with the potential Slayers in her dining room, one of them says that it almost killed Buffy. Rona then spreads both her arms out and says, "What chance do we have?" In the following shot, her left arm is down by her side and her right arm is resting on the dining room table.
Continuity mistake: Towards the end of the episode, during Buffy's fight with the Turok-Han, at the construction location, her shoes are very obviously some sort of practical flat shoe, but during her speech afterwards, she is wearing fashion boots with heels.
Chosen answer: From what we see in the series, certain girls are identifiable as potential Slayers - Kendra clearly fell into this category. The identification method is presumably mystical in nature, but the Watchers' Council are pretty effective at that sort of thing, so they're quite good at tracking down the potentials ahead of time. Not perfect, though - it does appear that Buffy herself may have slipped through the net - certainly she had no inkling of what she was until she'd already taken on the role of Slayer. It is possible, however, that this was actually cultural - an American family would hardly be likely to turn over their daughter to some strange man for 'training', so the Watchers might have chosen to keep an eye on her covertly, whereas some other cultures (like Kendra's Jamaican parents) might be more willing to believe.
Tailkinker ★