Stranger Danger
Have you taught your children about the dangers of talking to strangers yet?
I haven’t.
Not because I’m an irresponsible parent – although I guess some people may view it that way – but because it simply didn’t cross my mind.
My children are three years old and they’re always with me.
They never run away from me. They’re always at my side.
You may think I’m joking, but I’m not!
When I take them to the park or play groups they won’t go anywhere without me. They’ll ask to go on the slide or to go and play with a toy. I’ll say yes and then they’ll want me to go with them.
I like them. I think it’s a good thing, although at times I kind of wished they were a bit more independent at play group and wandered off to play with something without me right behind them.
I often see the panicked looks on other mums faces when they’re child has run off and they’re nowhere to be seen. I’ve never had that problem because as I say, my girls are always by my side.
Does all of this mean that I shouldn’t talk to them about ‘stranger danger’ yet?
I’ve been thinking of some of the things that I tend to do when out and about with them and have now come to realise that I need to change my ways.
If I’m out with the girls and someone (usually an elderly lady!) says hello to them, I always say to the girls, “Are you going to say hello back?”
Is it extreme of me now to not ask them to say hello back because after all that elderly lady is a stranger to them, but then I don’t want to come across as rude to them either by not acknowledging them.
Am I over-complicating this?
I recently watched a video by Joey Salads which popped up on my Facebook newsfeed one day.
In the video Joey is in a park with a super cute puppy. He approaches a few mums and asks them if they tell their children not to talk strangers.
The majority of the mums reply and say they tell their children every day.
Joey goes on and says “So if I go over to your child now, will they talk to me or run back to you?”
All of the mums say that their child won’t talk to him.
What do you think happens?
Here’s the video…
This video genuinely shocked me as it just goes to show that even if you do tell your child not to talk to strangers on a daily basis they can still end up in harm’s way.
As you can see by all of the mums reactions they were shocked that their child took his hand and walked off with him.
Some people argued that the children walked off with him because they’d seen him talking to their mums so assumed she knew him, but to me this isn’t a valid argument. Regardless of the fact that the child may have seen their mum talking to him, they should still no not to walk away with him.
Better education is needed and if that means being a bit more ‘in depth’ and descriptive about ‘stranger danger’ and the possible consequences then so be it.
After seeing this video I’ve started to talk to my girls about this issue. I found these two websites helpful:
One of the most effective ways for me to teach my children about something is by using books. I’ve found the following books which are suitable for toddlers. I haven’t read any of these books yet, but I am planning on buying a few of them soon.
Have you talked to your children about stranger danger yet?
8 Comments
Random Musings
May 19, 2015 at 9:26 am
It's scary how easy it is to get a child to go with you. From what I remember from being a child, you picture the stranger your parents warned you about to be a scary man who is trying to drag you off. No one pictures the respectable looking man who's nice to you! It must be hard for parents to find the balance between making sure children understand the dangers and not scaring them to the point that they won't talk to anyone. #myfavouritepost
Debbie
Bethan Sian
May 19, 2015 at 11:02 am
I watched that video a few weeks ago, it shocked me so much. I don't think all of those mum told the truth by sayin they tell their child every day. I've never had that conversation with my neither of my daughers, but I will be soon! I'm lucky that my girls will stick by me but sometimes my youngest will run off and hide somewhere when she is in a certain mood!
onemoredadblog.com
May 19, 2015 at 12:12 pm
We are in the same boat as you. We will generally tell them to respond to someone so they don't seem rude.
We talk to them about strangers and will randomly quiz them. So as we are driving or something I'll ask "What do you do if someone says they lost their dog, who do you tell?" and things like that. I want them to be prepared but I don't want them to think that everyone is bad. It's a tough line to walk when you don't want your kids to be afraid of the world, but you want them to be cautious.
Mrs Tubbs
May 19, 2015 at 7:49 pm
We've done our best to teach the Tubblet to be safe and aware of strangers. As she's older than your two, we're also starting to teach her about online safety as well.
Leandra Bramham
May 20, 2015 at 5:19 am
I can honestly say I'd never even considered that I should be teaching T about stranger danger, I know that sounds bad but like you, I just think he's always with me so I don't think about it. Thanks for this post though, it's something I really need to start doing.
#myfavouritepost x
Leandra Bramham
May 20, 2015 at 5:20 am
I can honestly say, I've never even considered talkin to T about stranger danger, as he's always with me or at nursery.
Thanks for this post though it's something I really need to start, I appreciate the reminder to do so 😉
#myfavouritepost x
Odd Socks and Lollipops
May 22, 2015 at 8:23 pm
I saw that video and it was so very scary to watch! Boo is so independent she will run off at soft play and groups and thing. I am going to have have this talk with Boo as soon as she is old enough to understand. Thank you for sharing those links.
Zena Goldman
May 26, 2015 at 8:42 pm
I have got to do this as my daughter isn't the stay by your side kind of girl. She got swept along with the crowd as we left the theatre the other day and it was so scary. These are conversations we need to have sooner rather than later I think Thanks for linking up with #MyFavouritePost