The $100 Question: How Do You Teach Your Kids About Stranger Danger?

Teach your child confidence & that its okay to scream & hurt someone who is hurting them.

Teach them to be careful around people but not to be overly worried that everyone is out to get you

Is a fine line between scaring a child and teaching them to be cautious. I think the best way to to this is have open and honest communication with the child so that they know to come to me with any concerns they may have, or adults that try to befriend them in an innaprpriate way.

So luckily for me this has never come up. Thanks for the contest.

I constantly reinforce the message about stranger danger. We talk about what to do in certain situations and who to go for help. We take our children to meetings our local police department have for child safety. garrettsambo@aol.com

I have really tried to enforce the idea that there are good and bad people everywhere, even at church. I have my older kids travel in groups and I don't let my youngers kids go out without supervison. They know that people are not allowed to touch them in certain areas. They are told to be aware of who is around them and they are told to tell me if anything or anyone is making them feel uncomfortable.

I generally have just said to stick by my side. If I talk to the strangers, they're okay to talk to them. But otherwise I say that you only talk to people you know.

This reminds me of Forrest Gump, where he's getting on the school bus for the first time and introduces himself to the bus driver so they're not strangers. Yes, it was on again last night.

http://www.tetheredmommy.com
Maggie at tethered mommy dot com

Constant reminders about stranger danger!

We read books about it that help teach in a fun and not too scary way

We've taught then never go go with any stranger no matter how much info they know about them.

we have a six year old little boy and have been talking to him about it regularly lately. We have even had a few little mock drills on what he would do in certain situations. It is a difficult line, but I would rather him be a little paranoid about strangers than overly friendly with them.

Unfortunately, when a child is harmed it is seldom by a stranger. I believe in teaching general safety lessons like don't keep uncomfortable secrets, check before changing plans, etc.

I tried to inform them not to trust people and that some people may want to harm children...but it's very hard to actually warn them without scaring them...I told them our neighborhood isn't dangerous but just to be careful cause there's always a first time for everything...I did tell them someone might try to lure them by asking them to help them find a lost pet and situations like that..I think it's important to give them examples so they get 'it'.

Just like someone else has already said. We tell our kids not to trust anyone (including relatives).

I think you have to scare them in a sense. Are kids are still young and we have just taught them some people are mean and do bad things you never talk to someone you don't know. Just like we taught them not to go up to animals they don't know cause they can bite, basically some people are mean and bite.

I talk to them about stranger danger. We have a code word that we use should someone else need to pick them up (always a trusted family friend that they know).

I think you have to walk a fine line here. You want your kids to be aware of the danger without being overly frightened. I have spoken with my kids about these dangers on a fairly regular basis, starting out with little detail and giving them more as we progressed. I also made sure to give them information on who they can go to if they need help and what to do if they ever encounter a bad situation.

My children were small when it was okay for them to wander around the neighborhood and play outside from dawn to dusk. I agree completely with Bridget Magnus in that there is more danger from someone they know than from a total stranger. That being said, they still need to know that they shouldn't go anywhere with a stranger or accept treat from them.

I just always instill in them to never talk to strangers. They are a bit older now and have occasionally watched the news, they know there are terrible people out there.

Stranger Danger is about teaching your child personal safety. Personal safety is more than just stranger danger because the unfortunate truth is that (brace yourselves) your child is more likely to be abused sexually or physically by people you know than to ever be hurt by a stranger. Regardless of the danger you are trying to prevent teach your child about good touches and bad touches. Any touch (other than for discipline by you) that makes them uncomfortable is NOT OK. Teach your child the difference between good secrets and bad secrets. Give your child empowerment and a voice. Practice with them saying, "NO!" or "STOP!" to an adult when they feel uncomfortable or talk about NEVER keeping bad secrets. Give them examples and have them practice sharing the bad secret with you or another adult they trust. Praise their efforts.
Go ahead and tell your child to never accept candy or rides from strangers, but if you truly want to empower and protect your child, take it one important step further.

We taught our children not to talk to strangers, don't open the door to someone you don't know and don't get into car with someone you don't know.

I am not so sure you can really teach them. I have seen time and again stories where the parents TOLD them, SHOWED them and still it happened. My kids know I will stop and YELL their name if I can't see them. It has embarrassed them to no end. But I believe in acting fast.

I just explained that if you don't know the person you don't go with the person. Still to this day, I have to remind my teenager not to go in anyone's car that they don't know.

I model behavior for my children while we are in public with friends and family :)

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Explain WHY

I warned my small ones early and frequently by letting them know that no one, absolutely no one, goes anywhere without mom and dad knowing, just in case an emergency comes up (I didn't want to imply to them that everyone was bad or make them fearful of every situation). So far so good and now we have GPS on their cell phones.

I warned my small ones early and frequently by letting them know that no one, absolutely no one, goes anywhere without mom and dad knowing, just in case an emergency comes up (I didn't want to imply to them that everyone was bad or make them fearful of every situation). So far so good and now we have GPS on their cell phones.

I think it's more important to teach kids to speak up when they are afraid and if something happens be it with a stranger or with known people. The majority of kidnappings and molestations are done by people that are close to the family rather than strangers.

i supervise them and don't let them have the chance to talk to strangers

Try not to make them paranoid, but make sure they know to shout and run if someone gets too close.

I think teaching them confidence in their gut feelings is a huge part of stranger danger. Teach them not to worry about hurting the strangers feelings, etc.

Honestly I don't emphasize it much. The reality is children are more like to be abused or hurt by someone they know. I try to teach my children to be assertive, listen to their instincts, and not go anywhere with anyone without letting me know about it first.

i have a book that i have had since i was little which i read to my nephew. then i answer any questions he has.

My son joined a karate class and they went into great details about stranger danger so we reinforce what was taught. They told them to be aware of their surroundings in a store. You should have a awareness of personal space with red, yellow and green degrees of awareness of how close a stranger is to you. They were taught to drop to the ground if the are grabbed and to kick if someone grabs you.

My husband and I approach the topic honestly and do our best to keep it so that the kids are vigilant but not frightened to death.

I telll them to only talk to those they know

Always reassure them that their tummy knows best - if their tummy is "telling" them something isn't right (that "sick tummy" feeling), it likely isn't and they need to take appropriate action.

Many thanks!

Growing-up in a small town is a challenge,,everyone knows everyone. I tought my children, they are not allowed to enter anyones house unless I am with them. They are not allowed to get into a car with anyone other then with me. All my neighbors practice this and we watch-out for each others children.

where I'm kind of glad I don't have children. I'm not sure it's possible to tell a child about danger and really get the message across without scaring them a little. In this case, it's better that they be afraid and understand, rather than not being afraid and the message doesn't sink in.

It seems like there's always a missing child case in the news. As horrifying and tragic as those events are, the media coverage creates an opportunity to talk straight up with your child. Talk about what happened and what actions to take if they are approached by a stranger. Trying to protect your child from the very real dangers of the world, is only opening them up to those dangers.

Talking is important. There's no need to frighten kids or make them grow up too quickly, but asking "what would you do if..." will teach them how to react should a bad situation arise.

I am thankful for stations like noggin that have cartoon characters that administer such lessons

jdmimi at gmail dot com

there are bad scarey people out there and you need to always stay by Mommy. They have to be aware and know the dangers because it is true.

If you sugarcoat the danger, you turn children off from listening to their gut feelings about dangerous predators. Be honest.

It's a tough question. My nephew is still too young and we haven't had to address this topic yet. I'll definitely take all these comments into account when the time comes!

We were just talking about strangers the other day. We let them know never to go with any adults unless I've okay'd it. And we've told them that adults never need any help from kids.

Talking in calm casual tones encouraging them to be aware of their surroundings helps! Thanks! senekers@comcast.net

I think you just have to tell them - don't talk to strangers. and I like the idea of a code word that will identify to the child that this person is ok even if he's a stranger, if he knows the code word and tells the child to go with him.

Thanks for the giveaway!

Just talk to them calmly.

it's tough but a nice stranger is one who won't make you leave your current surroundings

A bit of fear is okay, especially these days. Being honest is a good idea!