I was just walking out of the mall today when a strange man came over to my trolley and asked my kids for a high 5 and how they were , we were just about to the car so I didn't stop but he followed us and asked again . I said please leave us alone and put the kids in the car, how do I tell them that some strangers are bad without scaring them ??
5 Replies
I hate it when people do this, there's legit no reason for them to approach kids (however innocent the intention). Anyhoo, how old are your kids? I don't think they really have the capacity to understand this until they're about 4, not that you shouldn't discuss it but if they're still quite little just keep it brief. Eg, 'we don't talk to strangers, unless mum or dad say it's ok' that was usually enough when my kids were little, we've just expanded on this as they've gotten older.
Hi I have twins starting prep next year so 4 turning 5 .
Yes you just model it and take care of them until theyre old enough to unserstand stranger danger. If they cant understand theres no point explaining it, just say mummy didnt know that man so i didnt want him near you.
It's never too early to start teaching protective behaviours. I would start by getting some books which deal with these things. Maggie Dent has a list of books on her website which are good for raising the topic of protective behaviours as it entails more than just stranger danger.
My daughters old daycare really pushed the whole stranger danger thing from 2-3 years old. I have pulled her out of there and have been going to therapy to overcome intense social anxiety for the last 12 months. Whenever someone new approaches or speaks to her she has a complete meltdown and has told me that it’s because strangers are bad and they want to hurt her.
Tread carefully. You don’t know how seriously your kid will take it and being deathly afraid of every stranger does more damage than good.