Tips for Child Safety: How to Teach Your Children to Deal with Strangers Without Scaring Them

As a parent, teaching news outlets can be terrifying. Every day you see stories on television, in the newspaper, and on the internet about people harming children. A majority of these incidents involve strangers interacting with children. As a parent, you want to protect your children from strangers, but then at the same point you must realize that every person your child meets for the first time falls into that stranger category to your child. This is why you need to develop ways for children to realize how to deal with different types of strangers.

People That You Know and Even Family Members Are Still Strangers To Your Child At First

Think back on when you were a kid. Do you remember the first time you met your neighbors? Probably not, but you will remember that at one point you really didn't know who they were. They same situation arises with family members other than your parents. Everyone is a stranger to a child at some point. They learn who they can trust by observing their parents and their parents interaction with these individuals. Make sure you introduce your child to people that you feel they should know (relatives,neighbors,teachers,etc) each time they see them for their first few times they meet these people. The repetitive introductions will enforce to your child that they should know these people. Also be careful how you interact with these individuals around your child. They observe how people treat their parents, and if you have a disagreement in front of your child they will remember this and view the person as someone who upset their parents.

People Who Are Authority Figures

It is best to introduce your child early on to authority figures such as firemen, policemen, and security guards. This way your child will recognize them. Make sure you child understands if they are somewhere and can not find you that these are the people they should look for to get assistance. Make sure your children know that people wearing these uniforms are "good" and will "help" them and that they should listen to what the people wearing these uniforms instruct them to do.

People Your Children Have Not Been Introduced To By You or Your Spouse

Explain to your child that if someone approaches them that you have not introduced them to (or it is a teacher at their school), then they should not speak with that person. Explain to them that they should not speak to somebody they do not know unless they are with you and you give them permission to. Keep in mind kids will sometimes wear shirts or jackets with their names on them. Make sure your child knows that just because somebody knows their name doesn't mean that they should speak with that person. Make sure your child understands anyone they do not know is a stranger and they should not go anywhere with them or accept any presents or treats from them. Explain to your child that if they are with you and someone comes up to them that they are safer than if they are alone or with friends and a stranger approaches them. Also let your child know if a stranger approaches them and you are not around, your child should seek one of the authority figures you have introduced them to (or a teacher if they are school) and tell them what happened.

The Benefits Of Classifying Strangers

By teaching your children that strangers fall into these different categories you will be able to help them learn who they should and who they should not socialize with when you are not around. They will also learn that while they are with you they are safe, but that they should be very careful and only trust certain people when they are not with their parents or other trusted relatives. By introducing your child to the different types of strangers they will realize there are ones they can trust to a degree (friends and relatives of their parents), ones they should respect and use for help when necessary (policemen, firemen, security guards, and teachers), and individuals they should not interact with at all (strangers they have never been introduced to). By knowing these categories your child can evaluate each person they meet and learn the category they fall into so they have a reference point when dealing with strangers without being terrified of everyone they meet that is new to them.