The Worst Way to Teach Kids Not to Talk to Strangers

The Worst Way to Teach Kids Not to Talk to Strangers

One thing we all have in common as parents is the unflappable drive to keep our children safe and out of harm’s way. It’s a little scary to know that we can’t always be there protecting them at every turn, but the best we can do as parents is to raise our children with some common sense and a good nose for what’s safe and okay, and what might not be. That said, when one family wanted to teach their little boy not to talk to strangers, they went way too far—so far, in fact, that they’re now facing criminal charges.

The aunt of a six-year-old boy in Troy, Missouri feared that her nephew was “too nice” to strangers, and so arranged for a local guy in town to lure him into his pickup truck, threaten him with a gun (I can’t make this stuff up), and tell him he’d never see his family again. After more out-and-out torture, the child was released back to his family, who lectured him on the importance of not talking to strangers. Luckily, this little boy did tell some authorities at the school about the incident, and he has since been placed with child protective services. I hate hearing about kids being removed from their families, but in this case, it seems like it’s absolutely for the best.

I cannot imagine the trauma that child went through—nor can I imagine what went through his family’s mind to think this was an appropriate teaching method. I mean, you wouldn’t teach your kids not to touch the hot stove by purposefully burning their little hands! So disturbing. Still, it does raise the question of how we should teach our children to avoid society’s dangers. We don’t want to raise our little ones being afraid of people and fearing the worst in them, yet at the same time, we don’t want them blindly trusting people that could very well turn out to be predators.

In my family, we have a few rules—if Daron or I (or Grandma!) is with them, they can talk to whomever they choose. But if they’re on their own (which they’re not very often yet, they’re still fairly little!), they know not to talk to strangers, and definitely not to get into a car with someone they don’t know, even if that person said it was okayed by us. How do you teach your kids not to talk to strangers? Please share in the comments—we’re all learning here and I love it when you share tips!