Stranger Danger

The importance of making your kids aware of stranger danger wherever you live

The thought of strangers lurking around children in parks, schools, shops or streets is every parent’s worst nightmare.

And it doesn’t matter where you live, the same threat affects everyone.

So it’s a good idea to make your children aware of what to do should a stranger ever approach them – obviously with as little scaremongering as possible.

It’s important for them to know that a person they do not know can be dangerous even if they are female or look “nice”.

Basic ‘stranger danger’ rules to tell your children include
*Never accept gifts or sweets from a stranger;
*Never get into a car with a stranger;
*Never go off anywhere with a stranger; and
*Never go off on your own without telling your parents or a trusted adult.

It’s a good idea to tell them it’s safer and more fun to be with friends and always to let their parents know where they are.

And it’s also important to tell them what to do if a stranger tried to scare them in any way. A good phrase to remember is ‘yell, run and tell’.

Yell ‘no’ or ‘stop’ as loud as they can, run home or somewhere safe like a school, police station or friend’s house, and finally tell a parent or trusted adult about what happened.

It’s always a worry for parents to know when is the appropriate age to tell their youngsters about stranger danger, but it’s generally thought that at about 3-4 years of age children begin to have an awareness of what a stranger means.