How to teach your child to be smart about strangers

Your child sees strangers every day. Most of them are nice and normal people, but a few may not be. Often it can be difficult to spot the difference. So, unless you teach your child about stranger danger, it may be hard to know when she must be cautious. 

 

Teach Your Child About Stranger Danger

When you talk to your child about how to avoid possible dangers and what to do if she finds herself in a potentially threatening situation, you empower her to know what to do in the event you are not there to protect her.

Teach your child to trust her instincts

One of the most important parts of teaching your child about strangers is to help her to always identify and trust her gut (or the “uh-oh feeling). This can be a strange feeling in her stomach or anything that makes her feel uncomfortable about a certain person or situation. 

Teach your child to be assertive 

Make sure your child knows that it’s perfectly okay to say no to an adult. It is also okay to run away from an adult in an uncomfortable situation and to tell someone about it. 

Teach your child about consent 

Your child needs to understand that she controls who can and who cannot touch her. This will help your child to leave when a situation feels wrong.

Always be open 

Cultivating an environment of openness and trust between you and your child makes it easier for her to talk about situations and people that make her feel uncomfortable and scared. 

Role-play different scenarios 

Kids learn easier when they can experience things hands-on. Therefore, it is important to play out different scenarios with your child to show her what behaviour is normal and safe and what is not. 

 

Learning to trust too 

There may be times that your child needs to turn to a stranger for help. Therefore, it’s useful to prepare your child for those kinds of situations too. For example, you can tell your child that if she ever gets lost in public, she should first approach an employee at a store. If there are no stores around, she should look for another mom with children.

Unfortunately, it’s not always possible to protect your child from strangers. But it is possible to teach her about appropriate behaviour and how to react if someone crosses the line. Keeping the above tips in mind can help your child to stay safe wherever she goes. 

 

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