This Week in Guidance

This Week students will be learning about Stranger Danger. The concept of "stranger" is a difficult one for young children. What I have found helpful is to define a stranger as a person that the child does not know--they do not come over to the child's house and visit with their parents; the child does not know their name, etc. Most young children believe that strangers are only people who are "bad" or who look scary or mean. As I review this concept I let children know that there are "good" and "bad" strangers and we cannot tell by looking at the person whether or not they are a "good" or "bad". Therefore, we treat all strangers the same: We don't ever talk to, go with, or take anything from a stranger. The children are always surprised when I explain to them that if I went to the school down the street and asked a child to go with me or talk to me, I would be a stranger. I explain that while I would never hurt a child, I am a stranger to that child because they do not know me. Since children will be spending a lot of time outdoors now that the weather is warming up, it's a good idea to go over these points. This is also a topic that needs to be reinforced constantly. One way you could do this is whenever you are in a public place such as Wal-Mart, you could ask you child "Is that person a stranger?" and again reinforce that if they cannot tell you their name and that person has never been over to your house while you are home, they are a stranger. I have listed a couple of books about strnagers under the resource tab and I am sure their are many more out there. Another helpful website that covers a number of important topics that students seem to enjoy is http://www.wedolisten.org. The website has many animated books, lessons, posters and games about a character named Howard B. Wigglebottom. Each animated book is followed by a song. This would be a fun activity that you and your child could enjoy over the summer. The lesson about strangers is called: Howard B. Wigglebottom on Yes or No: a Fable about Trust. This is the lesson I am discussing this week.