One of the biggest fears many parents have is that their child will fall victim to child abduction. That’s why we teach stranger awareness. We’ve all seen programs where parents are asked if their kids would go with a stranger where most answer with a loud and vehement “no”. Then we watch parents sit back and view a video of their child helping a “stranger” locate a puppy. We all think that our kids won’t go with strangers but the truth is many would. Especially since most strangers aren’t scary looking monsters, but your every day run of the mill friendly sort.
A strange thing happened yesterday evening that made me realize that it was time for a refresher course on stranger awareness. Tyler and I were at the nursing home where my sister works. There’s a little park area for the residents and Tyler was running around playing. I was sitting not too far from where he was playing. A woman and a boy of about 8 or 9 walked out of the nursing home. The boy immediately ran over to where Tyler was, while the woman put something in her SUV and then went back inside. Tyler and this kid started conversing and running around playing tag. For some reason my radar was up so I was watching carefully to see what was going on. The kid started rough-housing with Tyler. At this point I got up and walked over and told him that I don’t allow Tyler to play, “touching games” with people that he does not know. I told him someone could get hurt so I wanted him to keep his hands to himself and told Tyler to do likewise. The kid was literally looking at his feet while I talked to him and barely nodded his head.
They continued to play for about three minutes and then the woman returned. She then got in her SUV but I noticed the kid was not moving. I could see that Tyler was talking to her and then I heard him say his name. Then he pointed at me. At this point I called Tyler to come to me and the kid jumped in the vehicle and they sped off.
When Tyler came over I asked what the woman was saying to him. He responded that she had asked his name and then asked who he was with. I reminded him that he’s not supposed to talk to strangers or give out personal information. He told her his full name, what school he attended and that his aunt worked at the nursing home. He said the boy claimed that his name was Tyler also and that they were friends. After a bit more conversation, I realized that Tyler could very well be one of those kids looking for lost puppies. He thinks that everyone he meets is his friend. He told me that the boy wasn’t a stranger because they had introduced themselves to each other. Just ten minutes of play and they were best buddies.
When he comes home from school today, we are going to sit down and talk about stranger danger again. I don’t want him to be afraid of everyone but it’s obvious he’s too trusting. When I was growing up child abduction was almost unheard of. In fact, I remember when kids in Atlanta were being abducted and murdered that was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing. I think I was probably in middle school at that time. We figured this guy for some type of monster but he certainly looked normal when he was caught.
Now, I’m not saying this woman was trying to grab my baby; I just got a bad vibe from her and the kid. For now I will definitely review the rules concerning strangers and make sure he understands how to keep himself safe, not to give out personal information and most importantly everyone you meet is not your friend.
See also:
Teaching your child about strangers
McGruff.org Teaches Children About Safety