Stranger Danger

Stranger, it’s a scary word. To parents, it represents one of our biggest fears. We worry a lot about a stranger harming our children. To continue with Goddard’s theme this month about safety, we are focusing on strangers this week. How do you strike the balance between raising a friendly child vs. raising a cautious child?

Here are a few tips to help teach your children about the concept of strangers:

• Try not to scare your child with details on what a stranger can do to harm them. You want to develop a healthy caution not a phobia about strangers. 
• Set ground rules for when you’re out of the home in a public place.
• Work under the rule “if I can’t see you or you can’t see me you are too far away”. This could stop your child from ending up in an isolated place where a stranger can harm them.
• Another good rule is to tell your children to always tell their caregiver where they are or where they are going to.
• Teach your child that they should not talk to strangers especially when you aren’t with them
• Review with your child what a stranger is in simple terms. Someone they have never been introduced to. Someone who is trying to make them leave with them. Explain that you would never send anyone to get them that they don’t already know. 
• Review the tactics a dangerous stranger might try. “Please help me find my lost puppy dog” or “If you go with me to the candy store I will buy you a treat”.

Your goal is to help your child develop a healthy awareness of stranger danger, so they can make decisions that will keep them safe now and in the future.


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