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Stranger Danger Awareness Program to be
presented to Greenville school children
Presented by Citizens 4 Change and Greenville School District
Rick Allen will be presenting The Stranger Danger Awareness Program,
“How to Be Street Smart,” to all Greenville City School students in
grades K-6 on Wednesday, February 16, 2011. Mr. Allen has been
educating students regarding this topic for over thirty-five years. He
will be meeting with the students at the following times:
South Middle School: 7:45-8:30 Grade 6, 8:35-9:20 Grade 5
East Intermediate School: 9:45-10:30 Grade 4, 10:35-11:20 Grade 3
Woodland Primary Schools: 1:00-1:45 Woodland K-1, 1:50-2:35 Woodland 1-2
Citizens4Change is pro-active in teaching our children “Stranger
Danger”. Our children need protecting and we can create awareness with
Education.
Teaching stranger danger to our kids has become a fact of life, and an
important element of child safety in, and out of our homes. Telling our
kids to not talk to strangers is simply not enough anymore, and it’s
not realistic. We need to teach our children the basic rules of safety
when they are out in the world without us.
It is also important that they understand how to interact with
strangers. Telling them not to talk to strangers is going to instill
fear in them, and they will lose trust in the adults in the world.
This is not the goal, what we want is to teach our child both the good
and the bad ways to effectively interact with strangers so that they
can protect themselves, and stay safe.
Statistics shows that children as young as the age of 3 are targets for
predators. It only takes seconds for a child of any age to become a
victim of a child predator.
We may think our child at that age is too young to practice safety
practices, but there are things we can do together that will maximize
our child’s safety. Teaching stranger danger without frightening our
children can be a task. We don’t want them to feel the world they live
in, is dangerous and that everyone is out to get them. Your child needs
to feel safe in this world.
Explain to your children that strangers look like anyone else. Like
your neighbor, like the man at the post office. Not all strangers are
bad, but even the strangers that are mean won’t look like monsters.
That’s why we need to be careful with EVERYONE. Tell your child to
trust their gut. Children are much more intuitive than adults. Tell
your children that if they get a bad feeling, to walk away.
Use code words with your child. Have a word that only the two of you
know for emergencies. Set up another code word so that anyone that is
permitted to take your child or pick them up has to use the code word
so that your child knows it’s okay.
If your child walks home on their own from school, make sure they do it
in pairs or groups. Never allow your child to walk home alone. Also
make sure that your child always takes the same path or route home.
Tell them they can not change their route or plans without calling to
notify you first.
Our children need to know what acceptable behavior is and what is over
the line. When they are interacting with strangers for example, they
can take a lollipop if the stranger knows the code word.
Even young children however do not understand about touching safety,
and these are the children predators’ target. Teach your child that
they have private areas that no one is allowed to touch or see. Your
child should also know that if this line gets crossed, it is NOT a
secret. Parents need to know immediately.
Give your children tools such as whistles and cell phones if they are
old enough. These should be stored in a location that is easy to grab
when needed. Your child should blow the whistle if they are uncertain
about something.
Your child should also know exactly how to reach in you in case of
emergency. Animals and candy are two of the most common lure tactics
predators use. Tell your children not to talk to strangers with either
of these things unless the stranger knows the code word.(Code words are
excellent tactics when teaching stranger danger!)
Do not keep your child’s name printed on anything visible to strangers.
Their clothing, jackets, backpack, shoes, hats, anything should not
have their name on it. If a predator sees a child’s name and uses it,
the child will instinctively trust them.
Your children should always tell you where they are, and when they will
return. If they change their plans, they need to let you know. This
should be a fundamental house rule. Tell your children if they get
lost, to not go anywhere. They will have a better chance of being found
if they don’t wander any further. Here is where a cell phone or whistle
will come in handy.
Role Play with your child so they get a good feel for what is and isn’t
safe behavior.
Teaching stranger danger does not have to be scary. We can teach our
children without instilling fear. Instead, we can raise AWARENESS.
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