stranger danger awarness is it taught in uk schools??

what concerns me about little aprils case me is that no one taught april not to go with anyone you dont know
here in kindergarton even they have stranger danger classes they did when i was little even

But wee April DID go with someone she recognised. To her, it was simply the dad of one of her wee pals.

Iris wrote:But wee April DID go with someone she recognised. To her, it was simply the dad of one of her wee pals.

yes i know that but a child i was taught never to go in anyones car in this case though she may have thought he was taking her to her friends house???

Yes, I think children should be taught not to go with ANYONE without permission off a parent.

I am not in the UK but what is taught in our junior schools, aged 5 to 12, is the dangers of "tricky" people. Tricky people replaced stranger danger talks mainly because it was considered that a "stranger" was not an understood term to a child. A predator could stop and talk to a small child, making conversation about a character on his school bag for example, then walk away. The following week the predator could return and talk again to the child - at that point the child no longer considered him a stranger - he had spoken to him already.

So now it is along the lines of what you talk about WJK and how people can trick them into different situations, even if they know them.

It is a good approach, imo.

here in australia we also have special houses in most streets where if a child is frightned etc the child can go to that house and that person will call the police reunite the child with parents etc

It is difficult to achieve a correct balance between teaching a child that there are some people who cannot be trusted and scaring them half to death, unable to trust anyone.

I cringe now at the expression I used with my son many years ago - there were "naughty men" who might want to hurt him and he must never go with them. He accepted that okay but it wasn't until a while later that he told me that he thought a naughty man would actually introduce himself with those words and so it was okay to go with anyone who didn't!

Not Born Yesterday wrote:It is difficult to achieve a correct balance between teaching a child that there are some people who cannot be trusted and scaring them half to death, unable to trust anyone.

I cringe now at the expression I used with my son many years ago - there were "naughty men" who might want to hurt him and he must never go with them. He accepted that okay but it wasn't until a while later that he told me that he thought a naughty man would actually introduce himself with those words and so it was okay to go with anyone who didn't!

I know its not a laughing matter but that did make me chuckle NBY!
I was told a similar thing by my mum and didn't know what she meant. I also think my mum probably thought it would be 'obvious' to even her who were the naughty men because back then people seemed to think they ALL had 'a look', which we now know isn't the case.

My son is on the autistic spectrum which means he can sometimes take things very literally.

Ironically it wasn't an adult who made his childhood a misery and still affects him today but a boy of his own age.

Bullies and perverts come in all shapes and sizes.

Yes I am from the UK and I was taught it. As are the children I know that are at school now. I have two friends that are primary school teachers and we were actually discussing 'stranger danger' a few weeks back and how to get children to understand.

Mossman that is exactly the case. I was with a four year old a few days ago at a checkout when she pointed to the cashier and said 'You are a stranger!' The cashier then replied 'I'm not my name is Sarah', to which the little one said 'Oh ok hello Sarah!' She no longer seen her as a stranger! All I remember being taught at school is if your lost you can speak to police officers, because they are never strangers! And if your lost in a crowd look for a woman with children!! This was years ago mind!

I assume April must have known the person, however little it may have been for her to have climbed in.

Certainly in Oxfordshire schools, and I think all throughout the UK, all schools have to have a 'keeping children safe' policy, which includes things like 'stranger danger', but also is often linked with the schools anti-bullying policy,and other health and safety topics. One person in each school, in small schools usually the head, but sometimes the special needs or another teacher, is designated as the person for teachers, parents, or children to approach on such issues, but of course children can speak to their own teacher too. The designated person is charged NEVER to ignore a sinister rumour or accusation, but to pass it on to the police if there is the slightest chance there is anything in it. Also, all these designated persons are required to go on training courses to be more alert and au fait with all possibilities. Often outsiders come in to talk to groups of young children at a time. Schools I used to visit had the excellent Michelle Elliot of Kidscape, who did a kind of half talking, half music and movement session, with each class in the hall, about 'keeping safe.' Much stress was put on 'your body is your own, and it is private to you, and you are the boss of it'. Even more stress was laid on if you feel 'uncomfortable' with someone, especially if you are alone with them, LISTEN to your feelings, and never do something you feel instinctively is wrong, even if an adult tells you to. It was made clear also the danger comes not so much from STRANGERS but can be 'someone you know'. Ms Elliot did not hammer home directly the idea that this could happen within the nuclear family, but of course most abuse comes from close relatives whether parents, or more often step parents, but she said, I think, it could be a 'relative' or a neighbour, but her implication was understood by the smallest infants. Anyone behaving oddly towards you should be ignored, and you should leave their company at once: run away! and you must ALWAYS TELL an adult you trust, whether parent or teacher or whoever, even if the would be abuser tries to swear you to secrecy. Ms Elliot took the business of the difference between GOOD secrets and BAD secrets in her stride. The aim was always to give children the confidence to protect themselves from harm as far as possible.

I can remember my mum telling me about stranger danger when I was about 4. She even told me that such people sometimes kill children. I vividly recall my sense of horror and fear that murderers existed.I had a nightmare that night. It's hard enough to be told about death, let alone murder.

I can also remember the police giving a talk about stranger danger at our primary school. The problem is, many of those who prey on children are not strangers. I hope that nowadays children are also warned against step fathers, uncles and family friends...

How times change, we were only ever warned of the 9 o'clock horses and the bogie man who lived in the cellar as children, at least I can't remember ever being warned about the danger of strangers... Anyway, we stayed out playing in the street or on the 'reccy' until we were called in for bed and no one ever went missing. In those days though everyone knew everyone else in the area and a stranger would stick out like a sore thumb. There were no transient groups passing through and there were police on the beat day and night.
Happy days.......

wjk wrote:Yes, I think children should be taught not to go with ANYONE without permission off a parent.

That's what we've told our 6 year old wjk.

You can't teach them stranger danger as such because a lot of times they know these people, as April did so we say he must not go with ANYONE without telling us first, and if that person won't let him come and tell us then he's to scream the place down.

Some people have mentioned having a password so if mummy or daddy can't collect them and they send someone else we'll tell them the password so they'll know it's true.

When Tia Sharp disappeared they did have another talk on stronger danger in my little ones school, the teacher told us so if they had any questions (or nightmares) they knew what had happened, as they said its a fine line between telling them and scaring them and it is.

Not Born Yesterday wrote:

I cringe now at the expression I used with my son many years ago - there were "naughty men" who might want to hurt him and he must never go with them. He accepted that okay but it wasn't until a while later that he told me that he thought a naughty man would actually introduce himself with those words and so it was okay to go with anyone who didn't!

Last week my little one trapped his thumb in the door badly and this week when we've gone over never going off with anyone he asked WHY these people take children, so not wishing to tell him the absolute truth l said those people like to smack children hard and trap their fingers in doors. He was horrified, so l hope it's done the trick for now....


Compared DNA, that's a really good policy you explained.