Skip to main content

Stranger Danger and the Myths Kids Believe


"Playground In The Park" by Feelart on freedigitalphotos.net

In lieu of a recent situation in our neighborhood and this headline in the news recently, I decided to have 'the talk' again with my kids.

I realized pretty quickly, that even though we've had this discussion before, there were quite a few myths they believed about their own safety.

Have you had the Stranger Danger/Safety talk with your kids?
At what age did you begin introducing them to this scary but real concept?

Have your kids take this quiz. Parents, you'll know the answers to the open ended questions, but see if they do. Likewise, try to guess what they'll answer to the personal opinion questions.

You might be a bit surprised-and so might they-
  1. Do you feel safer at the bus stop or at the park? (This is somewhat of a trick question- naturally we feel safer near home and those places we frequent, so kids will often say 'bus stop', but then ask them part II of this question: Where is your guard most apt to be down?)
  2. Do you feel safer with a cell phone?
  3. If someone stops in a car and asks you for directions, what should you do?
  4. What if you recognize them as a 'friend' of yours, or mom and dad's?
  5. Do you have a password or code that only you and your parents know (which if someone comes by to pick you up in  a car and asks that you go with them (and your parents said it's okay) that they will be able to tell you?
  6. Is a female or male stranger safer to talk to/give directions to?
  7. Who is allowed to pick you up from places, other than mom and dad?
  8. Are teachers, coaches, counselors and fellow church friends okay to leave with? Can they be trusted?
  9. What are you supposed to do if someone comes to the door of your home?
  10. 11. Do you know the local street names around you?
  11. Should you walk to and from school, library, friends house, bus stop alone?

Parents, here's a quiz for you:

Do you wait until your child is safely in school before you drive off?
Do you drive them to the bus stop when you cannot see the stop from your house?
Does your teen walk to and from places with earbuds in, texting or talking on the cellphone?
Do you have an action plan in case someone tries to enter your home uninvited? 
Are all of your emergency numbers available and visible in a central location in your home (not saved in a cellphone that needs recalling by searching for contacts)?
Do you have the talk more than once with your kids?

The point of the this is not to scare anyone, it's more to raise awareness and remind us of the things we already know, so we are ready if it happens. It's like school lockdowns and fire drills; we know what to do, but we practice them once a quarter so that we'll be ready if/when it really happens.


Here are some helpful links:
Labels:

Popular posts from this blog

Back to School Anxiety: Bullying

Download “School Boy Being Stressed” by David Castillo Dominici via freedigitalphotos.net I recently wrote about how to help your child if they’re struggling with going back to school because they were bullied. My biggest most important tip was to listen, because I honestly could not write a ‘How-to-make-them-not-afraid’ column. Frankly I thought that was absurd. Fear is sometimes real. Anxiety is sometimes truly there, and for a good reason. Our job as parents isn’t to try to make it go away, it’s to try to find out the true source of those worrisome feelings. If you’d like to read more, click here. And if you’re child is struggling to find excitement about the new school year, don’t deny it, just accept it and move forward gently. Here’s some more on bullying: Family Matters Links: A Touching Story/Song Bullying: A thing of the past A Peace Poem By My Teenage Daughter A Deeper Insight into My Thoughts on People Who Bring Harm to Others Other Links: Stop Bul
Read more

Green Punch Buggy....!!!!

Green Punch Buggy...No Punch Back! As I was writing this blog post, my son came to me showing off his Lego creation. And don't you know I got hit at least five times since on my computer screen was displaying at least five different punch buggies, of five different colors thanks to Google Images. (Bad timing I'm thinking...) How can we possibly have world peace with these silly cars in the world!? ;) Don't the owners of these cute-but-obnoxious-cars understand that driving these things around town promotes violence!? ;) Anyhow.... The original purpose of this blog was to ask parents everywhere this question: Do you find yourself saying 'PUNCH BUGGY *BLANK-COLOR*! '  to yourself, even when the kids are not in the car??? I do! Isn't it funny how those games we used to play as a child are still around? I bet our parents say the same thing.... HAPPY FRIIIIIIDAAAAYYYY! P.S. I got hit at least ten more times, since as my son stood beside
Read more

Good Customer Service At Home

Over the years, my careers have mainly been customer service based. I started in a family business and then moved on up through the rungs from waitress, to hostess, to sales associate, manager and eventually the GM of a hotel. In all my years, my training taught me that you should always do your best to take your customer all the way to what they need, make them happy, and never leave them until they are done with you. I pride myself on my customer service abilities. Though the other day, I think I failed at customer service in my own home! I was getting ready to cut my daughter's hair and because of how long it had gotten (she's been growing it out for a year!) I felt this time it would be best  if instead of me spritzing it with water, she could wash and condition it real quick. She was fully clothed so I just suggested she run into the bathroom and wash her hair in the tub. She’s fourteen. I suppose I just assumed that she knew how to kneel over the tub and do it.
Read more