On Saturday, we took the children to a child safety class. They learned stranger danger and how to recognize and run from it. They learned that unless we, the parents, tell them, everyone is a stranger. And, that every stranger is bad. Why? Because you can't tell by looking at them.
This training has affected us all differently. Sister is very scared. I want her to be but I also want it tempered with caution. It is scary out there, but we must use our minds and try not to get into dangerous situations. For now, it's No, run away and tell your parents.
It is a very delicate balance. At the end of class, the instructor gave them ways to break the hold of the bad guy. The truth is, the children are small and probably won't be able to break the hold of any big adult. If they do, it will only be temporary. I think it gave them a false sense of power. So, I spoke with my older three and told them pretty bluntly that if they are ever in a situation like that, the chances of coming back are nonexistent. I told them to work very hard to not get into that point.
I pray constantly that nothing like that happens to my children. My stomach knots up terribly if I think of it happening to them. Now, I can only hope we have instilled some good things to think about. I hope (and pray), they'll never get into any of these types of scenarios.
Then, I have Brother who just didn't get the playacting part. Oh, what's my address? Well, I'll tell you. He thought the other kids who were yelling at him to stop giving it out, were the ones being bad. Poor kid. A new thing to work with him on. He has been taught to answer questions. A social skill. Now, I have to teach him the nuances somehow.
This parenting thing is scary. Fulfilling, but seriously scary.
I hope Sister rebounds soon. I hate to see her so afraid. I hate to see some of her innocence go.
Yikes! We want kids to have some fear, but not be too frightened to leave the house. Have you seen The Safe Side video? It tries to get kids to categorize grownups into "Safe" adults vs. total strangers vs. "Kinda-Knows" (like your soccer coach or ballet teacher or the UPS guy). They try to be serious without making kids paranoid. http://www.thesafeside.com/
Posted by: Michelle Reitemeyer | March 03, 2012 at 05:19 AM