Does anyone have any recommendations for good books or DVDs about teaching my four year old about stranger danger? I never really had to worry about this with my oldest, as he was so shy (still is) that he wouldn't even THINK about responding to a stranger.
My daughter, who just turned 4, is VERY sociable. She will talk to anyone.
We just had a scare the other day. My mom was watching my younger two. They were on her front porch when her phone rang. She got up, and went inside to grab it. Since it was very noisy on the porch, she stayed inside, but stood right by the door watching my kids as they played in the yard in front of her porch.
Then she noticed a car driving slowly by. She could see an older gentleman inside the car and he was looking right at my kids, mainly in the direction of my daughter. My mom started to get uncomfortable with how long he was looking at the kids and just at that moment the car pulled right in front of the house, as is if he was going to park at the curb. My mom opened the door and hollered for the kids to come inside. The car immediatley pulled back out onto the road and sped away.
After this incident, I've started talking to my daughter about strangers. I just don't think she's grasping the concept. What can I do, without scaring the heck out of her? Or, is that what I need to do?
Thanks!
~B.
You could contact your local police or fire departments, they routinely have safety days for children. They will fingerprint your child take a photo and talk to your children about strangers and what to do if one approaches them. I think its real helpful because it reinforces what I already tell my children and they listen more intently to the police officer.
The Bearensteinbears have a book about stranger danger. Its pretty effective without scaring them. I just had this happen at the park I was chasing my two year old and a man came up and said hi to my three year old. It was creepy. I know he saw me watching.
Hi B.~ A friend of mine gave me some really good advice. She told me to teach the children not to go with anyone they don't know. My daughter was put to the test when she was playing at a friends and the friends aunt wanted to take them to the store (she was about 6) she refused to go and went back to my mom's house. I remember when a california child was almost abducted, the person asked her to help him find his dog. I asked my daughter what she would do if someone asked her this. her answer was that she would go help him. I talked to her about that and reinforced the don't go with anyone and to find an adult she trusts. The yelling thing is a good thing to teach. It is hard with a social child, my daughter was like that and I feared she would go with anyone.
There is a DVD out and I believe it is called Stranger Safety. Here is a website if it helps... http://www.thesafesidedvds.com/
They also have one for the internet. Hope it helped!
This is a fine line to walk, you want them to be polite in social situations and safe always. I taught me kids not to talk to poeple they don't know unless a grownup they do know is in arms reach. My 8 year old just last week reached out to check distance before spaeking to a woman at a flea market . And they know not to yell HELP, they yell "this is not my Daddy" , "This is not my Mommy" or "this is a stranger" .
Here's a link to a good site, hope it helps http://www.kidpower.org/School-age.html
I've always told my kids that strangers can take them away from Mommy and Daddy and they will never see us again. I tell them that strangers can hurt them and do bad things. Fear of strangers is perfectly ok. Just make sure you let her know that it's ok to say hi if it's someone that you know or if they are lost or it's a police officer. It's hard to cover all the bases and the reasons, but if you make sure they never get out of your site in public you don't have to be too specific.
