Okay, so I've read a couple of books lately, and I had an "event" that made me think of the mixed messages we send to our kids. Let me tell you about the event first, then I'll explain about the books.
One of my boys was walking down the street in our neighborhood the other day when a guy (I won't use names, so we'll just call him Guy) at the end of the street stopped him and started talking to him. I know this story because I was only a house away when it happened, but when Guy started talking to him he didn't know this. Anyways, he spoke to my son, and started asking him questions. After the 3rd statement/question, I became concerned. This was no longer just a friendly "Hi!" situation. Guy was asking my son questions about what he was doing, where he was headed, etc.
So, I shouted to my son "What are doing? Stop talking to strangers. Keep walking!" The guy took offense to this, he didn't realize it was my son he was talking to. I told Guy, he should have more common sense than to talk to a strange kid.
Here's the mixed message, and I'm guilty of it too. We teach our kids to be respectful of adults, and yet we teach them not to talk to strangers. How do you help them manage both. Me personally, I say offend the stranger even if it is an adult. If you don't know them, don't talk to them. My son has a problem doing this though. He doesn't want to be rude to anyone.
Anyways, the book that immediately popped into my head was Room. You know, the story of the teenage girl who is abducted and kept prisoner in a man's storage shed. Other adults should be respectful of parents trying to protect their kids. And don't tell me, but this is a good neighborhood, because what's the first thing you hear people say when there's a tragedy? "We didn't think something like this could happen here. It's a good area." Strangers aren't wierd looking. Bad things can happen to good people. Crimes of opportunity just need the opportunity to happen.
Wow, so that's really long. I'll just stick to the 1 book reference here today.
One of my boys was walking down the street in our neighborhood the other day when a guy (I won't use names, so we'll just call him Guy) at the end of the street stopped him and started talking to him. I know this story because I was only a house away when it happened, but when Guy started talking to him he didn't know this. Anyways, he spoke to my son, and started asking him questions. After the 3rd statement/question, I became concerned. This was no longer just a friendly "Hi!" situation. Guy was asking my son questions about what he was doing, where he was headed, etc.
So, I shouted to my son "What are doing? Stop talking to strangers. Keep walking!" The guy took offense to this, he didn't realize it was my son he was talking to. I told Guy, he should have more common sense than to talk to a strange kid.
Here's the mixed message, and I'm guilty of it too. We teach our kids to be respectful of adults, and yet we teach them not to talk to strangers. How do you help them manage both. Me personally, I say offend the stranger even if it is an adult. If you don't know them, don't talk to them. My son has a problem doing this though. He doesn't want to be rude to anyone.
Anyways, the book that immediately popped into my head was Room. You know, the story of the teenage girl who is abducted and kept prisoner in a man's storage shed. Other adults should be respectful of parents trying to protect their kids. And don't tell me, but this is a good neighborhood, because what's the first thing you hear people say when there's a tragedy? "We didn't think something like this could happen here. It's a good area." Strangers aren't wierd looking. Bad things can happen to good people. Crimes of opportunity just need the opportunity to happen.
Wow, so that's really long. I'll just stick to the 1 book reference here today.
