GSO

Parents are usually scared about the likelihoods of dangers to their kids. More than often, you will hear a parent tell his child not to talk to a stranger. But, the million dollar question is, “are we instructing children on the hazards of interacting with strangers?” Just telling your children not to talk to a stranger will not prevent him or her from falling to the charm of a child abductor or molester. The media is also not helping at all when it comes to warning children about the dangers of talking to strangers. There are adverts about strangers stopping kids on their way from school, which in essence is bad.

While talking to your children about the dangers of talking to strangers, it is important that you do not raise unwarranted fear in them. Instructing your children on the dangers of talking to strangers is a way of ensuring their safety. Rather than raising the fear of talking to a stranger in your child, you need to find the right way of telling them about the actual hazards. By doing so, you will be instilling in your child a feeling of self-confidence plus the skills of interacting with other people. The objective of teaching your child not to talk to strangers is to make them more cautious and empowered. Fear should not be the goal.

One of the easiest safety rules to teach your child is: Do not go anyplace with somebody, unless you have asked for permission from an adult who is in charge. The problem is not strangers. The objective is not to instill fear in your children such that they tremble whenever anyone smiles down at them. The key is to educate your children on the strangers that can harm them. Your objective is to raise up your son or daughter so that he or she feels part and parcel of a sociable community that is working hand-in-hand to ensure everybody’s safety.

Assist your children to comprehend that they can be abused by particular strangers that do particular things. You need to educate your child to scream, yell or do anything to draw the attention of others in case they cannot recognize any person that is trying to do the following:

-          Offers him or her presents such as chocolates, biscuits and sweets.

-          Constantly hangs around them and attempts to engage in the things that they are doing.

-          Tells them not to report to anyone about their meeting or the things he has done.

-          Tries to persuade them to get into their car or house.

Once your child knows the danger signs to lookout for, he or she will know what to do so as not to bring harm upon them. Take time to explain to your child who trusted persons or adults are. Given that you will not always be around to watch over your children, they need to know who they can go for help in case of an emergency.