How to Teach Kids About Stranger Awareness

Children are being preyed upon more than ever in today's world. The statistics of missing or murdered children are staggering. Safety education must go far beyond the "don't talk to strangers" admonition that has dominated parents' vocabulary for decades. This is primarily because many parents aren't sure what else to do. Here are a few key instructions on making children more aware of strangers that should help parents sleep easier at night.

Instructions

• 1

  Start with the first rule of safety--Never walk or play alone. Children should always have friends with them at the playground or walking with them to the bus stop or school. It is easy for a predator to grab one child, but it is true that there is safety in numbers. Other children serve as witnesses to an attempted abduction, or they will provide the necessary alert to area around them by calling for help. A person looking to harm a child is not going to want the added risk of other children being there to identify him.

• 2

  Provide children with a specific definition of a stranger. The definition is simple: A stranger is someone your children do not know, period. It is not someone who is dressed in dark clothing and looks menacing. It can be anyone, even a person who looks like someone's sweet grandmother. Children need to understand that if they do not know the person, the person is a stranger and therefore potentially dangerous.

• 3

  Explain the power of the voice. Kids are told all the time by their parents to quiet down or lower their voices in the house. That is because voices are distracting and draw attention like any other noise. In the event a child is approached by a stranger, the child should be ready to employ the loudest possible voice in order to bring attention to the fact that someone could be attempting to harm him. Teach kids that their voices are a weapon that can save their lives.

• 4

  Demonstrate verbal boundaries. Children will be approached by potential predators in many ways. The first thing they must understand is that a predator will try to lure them with something irresistible, such as candy. The stranger may be on foot or in a car, but ultimately the goal will be the same--to get the child within arm's reach. Teach children that whenever a stranger approaches, no matter what the reason, to hold up both hands in front of them and yell, "STOP" as loudly as possible. If the stranger continues to come forward, the child should yell again, "STOP!" and "I DON'T KNOW THIS PERSON!" If the child is not within arm's reach of the stranger at this point, he or she should then turn and run, yelling as loudly as possible, "Help me, help me, stranger, stranger!" Naturally, this will alert any other adults or parents in the area to the situation and further ensure the safety of the child and possibly the capture of the predator.

• 5

  Practice these tips regularly. At least once or twice a week, it is a good idea to refresh kids' memories on stranger awareness and verbal boundaries. The more they practice, the more confident they will feel if they are ever threatened. Remind them that a stranger will use lots of different, seemingly attractive ways to get their attention and lure them away from safety. Strangers can look like anybody, not just someone with a mean face. They can blend in well with any other person in public, but when they approach a child that doesn't know them, they should immediately be considered a threat to that child.