Teach Your Kids Stranger Danger!

What is stranger danger?

Real-world can be scary, but with your guidance, everything can be dealt with . Let’s teach our kids about the dangers.

Today’s times are unsafe, especially for kids.

The moment they are out of your eyes, it is a vast world out there which exposes them to good and bad both. Good is still something they will recognize and appreciate eventually, but what is fearsome is the bad bit. The identification and prevention from it. How to tell your little one that not everyone is their friend? The fear is also that you will find it hard to explain it without breaking their bubble of innocence.

But you gotta tell them in some way or the other about the dangers they are prone to; good touch and bad touch, bullying, physical abuse, that man with candy is not your friend and many more things like that. Let’s face it, they are easy prey and we need to prepare them for the worst. The twist comes when you have to do without tampering with their innocence and carefree attitude towards life. The idea is to make them aware, not afraid.

The most efficient way to teach them about these things are:

1. Storytelling:

Blend in these lessons during story time. Just like you slip in moral lessons, why not the stranger danger lessons? If you are unable to do it on your own then there are books as well which you can use that
come with stories depicting the threats they can face. One such book is Fairytales Gone Wrong: Who's Bad and Who's Good, Little Red Riding Hood?: A Story about Stranger Danger. You can find more like these and make storytime more productive and informative for your kids.

The strange thing is that we think kids don’t understand these things but they do. They need to be pushed in the right direction under these situations and reading can be one great way. It is like killing two birds with one stone, you are teaching them morals as well as possible evils they can be exposed to.

2. Role-Play:

Kids adapt more to incidents and things they have seen first hand. Remember when they first called you Mumma? Well, it was so because you kept reiterating that word in front of them. Have a stranger danger night maybe, arrange playdates with other kids while you discuss the same first with their parents and see the impact. They will learn so much with losing their innocence and not just them, their friends too and that will make them together ‘a strong pack of little ones’ against the world.

It might be overwhelming as a parent to do such activities, but you can’t expect them to understand this on their own. It is better to be a pretend stranger and put up a skit, than to let them face the real one without any practice. As a parent, you have to stay strong and realize the bigger picture of this activity. Discuss with other parents and come up with other innovative ideas to make this role play more successful drills.

3. Talk to them often:

Always check on your kids. Ask them about their days. Slip in casually about the things like, ‘did anyone bother you, honey?’ Earn their trust that they can come up to you and bear their heart without hesitation. Tell them they are accepted and trusted for their feelings. While telling them this, ask them to exercise their right to say NO and that it is within their hands to decline an adult if they are not comfortable around it. Same goes for good touch and bad touch.

It can be mentally and emotionally exhausting for you as a parent to explain such complexities of life to them but no one else can teach them this and it is your responsibility, after all, to protect them, whether they are with you or not.

If you have any special techniques in which you teach your child about dangers from strangers, share with us!