How to Teach Your Child About Strangers
Most children are friendly by nature and are nice to strangers with an eagerness to help. This is a great interpersonal skill and adds to their socializing skills when they grow up. However, as kids this could work against their safety if the stranger turns out to be a person with intentions of harming the child or the family. This harm could include abduction, physical and psychological harm for monetary or personal reasons. It is very necessary that your child should know who a stranger is, judge his or her intentions if possible and do their best to get out of a tricky situation. Have a look at our step by step guide to teach your children about dealing with strangers.
Instructions
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1
Who is a stranger?
The first category is of those who are strangers to everyone in the family. This could be a man asking for help in finding a lost puppy or address in the street. A child should never agree to help him or her without first informing his parents. The other category is of acquaintances that you introduce to your child but are not sure of their intents and character. In this case children should know that it is okay to meet them and greet them in your absence but avoid being alone with them in unsafe situations like outside the home. -
2
The essential contact details should always be memorized
Make your child memorize his residential number and address right from the age he or she learns to speak. Familiarize him with the place you live in, neighbors, your workplace and the area around his or her school so that he or she knows the places around. It will give them an innate confidence and will increase the chances of survival when any unusual event happens like running from a stranger. Children should also preferably memorize the contact number of the local police unit. Train children to stand at a noticeable place, away from the crowd when they lose you anywhere and pay attention to any announcements. -
3
Who to ask for help
When a child finds him or herself away from familiar faces or lost in a crowd, he or she should know the right people to go to and not just any other stranger. These right people include policemen, security guards and officials of the place they are in. An already lost child is lottery money for a stranger with suspicious intentions. Make police appear friendly to the kids by introducing them to cops nearby so that they recognize the uniforms and are confident when running for help. -
4
Teach with games and crime movies
Search out games and movies around a story where children are duped. This will indirectly make them careful when they are on their own and wary of stranger’s actions. The movies could include scenes where children are fooled and drugged. However, avoid showing scenes with violence and the harm part because it could have negative effect on their psychology. These kinds of games and movies build up a sense of insecurity around a person so do not over-do them. -
5
Establish rules
Make safety rules that every child in the family should know when dealing with strangers. They should never follow a stranger into unfamiliar territories. Accepting any eatable from a stranger might lead to being drugged and kidnapped. If a situation is unavoidable, they should always keep a safe distance while interacting with a stranger. Safe distance means a distance that will give a person a chance to run before something hostile grabs him. Another rule should be to never entertain stranger guests when the parents are not at home. -
6
Train Your Child
Train your child that in case if they find anyone chasing them or attempting to kidnap them, scream as loudly as they can. Asking someone for help can make the stranger to leave them and run away. -
7
Set Code or Safety Word
It is always good parents and children to set a code word or a secret word for various situation. For example, when the parents would not be able to pick the children from any event or school, they can appoint someone else to pick their child. If the appointed person does not know about the code word, the child should better ask the security staff or teacher.
