Life is like a sandcastle something beautiful here for awhile & then gone, but the impression it makes on others can last forever.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Horrified at the answer

I was horrified at the answer. Thinking of the post Nichol @ Kiddies Cornor Deals had shared on Amber Alert on Facebook. I'd already had this talk with my son and so I thought lets refresh. I talked about strangers, he seemed to understand all that. Then I started asking what would you do if? One of his answers horrified me. Our talks will now be more in depth and I will be looking for more questions to quiz them and prepare him & his brother with the right choices.

To began our learning process I found some helpful videos on YouTube




4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so scared of having this talk with my son. I fear the disappearance of my child more than anything. I feel so paranoid sometimes. I watch for people looking at him, following us out of a store, I love the car while I pump my gas even though I am standing right there lol

I always try to remember what he's wearing, and if he has any new bruises or any other sort of identifying marks just in case. Does this make me sound like a freak? Pretty sure it does lol

Samantha said...

So, what did he say?

Unknown said...

Well, as a parent and a deputy sheriff, I have to say that even though this talk terrifies you Ashlee...you better have it. Be straight and upfront without being so scary that your child becomes freakishly scared to be out of your sight at all. Every parent NEEDS to have these conversations with their child at every age. We make it a birthday talk at our house....that way I know that we're reviewing what if's and responses that are age appropriate for my kids.

If you freak out too much and go overboard with the panic and paranoia, your child will eventually pick up on it and won't be helped in any way. You have to make a concerted effort to be safe while still realizing your child needs room to grow up because you can't be with him every second of his life. You have to give them age appropriate freedoms while still instilling in them the need for precautions and safety.

I think this is a natural fear of every parent, especially in this day and age. If you're not a little worried, you're either mentally ill or completely oblivious to the real world.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this! Even though my kids are 11 & 9 & understand more about strangers, we talk about it often with them especially now that we live in a foreign country.

One thing that someone shared with me when they were little was to never call them by their name in public where someone can overhear it. That seemed a little difficult to do but we do try to be mindful of our surroundings. We've also told them that if we get separated from them, never go with anyone who calls them by name & says their Mom/Dad told that person to get them.

Child abduction is one of my biggest fears. We make sure to talk about "stranger danger" often as well as show the kids a video. And I update their child identification kits often as well.