Stranger Danger

Keep Your Kids Safe

By
Relationship Advice Expert April Masini

Q: Dear April Masini,

My oldest child is getting ready to go to the fifth grade, and he will be walking to school every day. The route is safe and he'll be with friends, but as we all know, anything can happen. I want to talk to him about the importance of not talking to strangers, without giving him the wrong idea of inflated danger or visions of something scary happening to him. I want to make him cautious, not scared. How can I do this?

Sincerely,

Non-Alarmist Mom     

A:

Dear Non-Alarmist Mom,

1. "Don't talk to strangers," is an old standby that works. Yes, it may
render your child anti-social, but until your child is mature enough to
differentiate between a friendly stranger and a stranger who's a danger, err
on the side of safety.

2. "Never get in a car with someone you don't know."  You have to tell your
child that there are bad guys in the world. The reason you have to tell them
this is to protect them and to allow them to understand reality. Yes, it's a
loss of innocence, but that's what going out in the world is about. If
you're not ready to teach your child this, then keep them inside until you
are.

3. Never let anyone touch you where your bathing suit goes. The bathing suit
is a good delineation for appropriate and inappropriate touching places. You
don't have to get into genitals and names for genitals, and this rule is one
that kids can repeat to each other without feeling embarrassed. And, they'll
understand it.

April Masini -- nicknamed "the new millennium's Dear Abby" by the media, is author of the best-selling books Date Out Of Your League and Think & Date Like A Man, the two (just released) step-by-step dating and relationship manuals, Ideas for a Fun Date and Romantic Date Ideas, and the critically acclaimed dating and relationship online magazine www.AskApril.com.

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