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Kids and Strangers:

Teaching a child to stay away from strangers may sound like an easy thing to do, but unfortunately it isn't. Kids think that they are invincible, so no matter how much you tell them to stay away from strangers, and to run away if one ever stops to talk to them, they still believe at least a little that if a stranger ever tried to kidnap them they would be able to fend them off.

You need to find out what your child thinks about this by asking them what they would do if a stranger ever stopped to talk to them. You may be surprised at what your child will say. You may have told them 500 times that they should never talk to them or get in the car with them, and your child still may tell you that they would talk to them, but they would fight them if they tried to kidnap them. Not all kids will say this, but you never know unless you ask.

When asking your child what they would do, you must also go through several different scenarios. Don't just ask what they would do if a stranger came up to them and tried to get them into their car. Your child may be picturing a person who looks mean who is trying to grab them and shove them in the car. It is easy to be wary of this type of scenario, but this isn't usually how it goes.

Instead, kidnappers tend to be decent looking people who come across as nice and friendly, and trick the children into leaving with them. So, to let your child know of all the different types of scenarios, you must ask them specific questions, such as:

• What would you do if a nice man came up and said that he had lost his dog? Would you help him look for the dog?

• What would you do if a friendly woman came up to you at school and told you that your mom knew her and she was supposed to pick you up? Would you get in the car even if you didn't recognize her?

• If you were at the park, and someone you didn't know came up to you and offered you some bread to feed the ducks with, would you go with him to feed the ducks?

There are many different scenarios like this can you can think up to ask your child, and see what they would do.
It is very important to convince your child that bad people don't necessarily look bad, and they won't act mean in the beginning. You have to explain to your child that bad people will act nice, and they will lie to them to trick them into going somewhere with them.

It can be extremely difficult to teach your child about not talking to strangers when strangers often talk to them in public. When a worker at a store asks your child's name and age, you encourage your child to talk to them. Children don't understand the difference between this stranger and one that is intending to do them harm.

To help them understand, explain to them that they should only talk to strangers when you say it's okay and only when you are standing right there with them. Also, if your child doesn't want to answer a stranger's questions, don't force them. Instead of telling them to talk to the person, simply tell the person yourself and tell them in front of your child that your child doesn't talk to strangers because you taught them not to.

Showing your child that you have noticed that they are listening to what you said and that you approve of them not talking to strangers can help them continue doing it.



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