My Chicken Little is the friendliest of friendlies. He thrives on external stimuli and loves to meet new people, sharing his whole life with them in the first few minutes. Even as a toddler he would invite people home with us at the grocers, the library, out on the street. It was to the point that we made up his own “calling cards” so that he could give out our phone number and email for potential playdates.
He was so fragile of spirit that I was afraid to explain the concept of stranger danger to him. It seemed unimportant since he was with my constantly, holding onto my pants and afraid to leave my side. That gave me some comfort. But I knew he needed to know more about it – that there were people out there who would do him wrong given the chance. I was at a loss to explain what might happen in a way that would not frighten the friendliness right out of him or give him bad dreams since he was already prone to night terrors.
Then I came across this stranger safety video. It was created by the John Walsh, host of America’s Most Wanted who started that show after losing his child to a stranger and Julie Clark, the creator of the Baby Einstein videos. This video is up to date, compelling enough that even a nearly 6 year old Power Ranger fan wanted to watch it again, and clear enough that he was able to repeat for me everything he had learned correctly.
The information is presented in a non-scary format yet by the end of the video he understood the very real possibilities that could happen and what to do to prevent them. This is something I plan to watch with him at least several times a year since kids frequently forget.
What I particulary love about this video is that it has instant credibility. I could explain things to him until I’m blue in the face and they wouldn’t sink in. For some reason this information needs to come from someone else, someone outside his circle of safety, and the fact that it was presented in a media-rich format makes it real to him. Sadly, kids really do believe almost everything they see on TV. Use that to your advantage.
This video is a must-have for every household with kids over the age of 3, even though the video says 4 and up. If you have put off having the stranger danger talk, or even if you haven’t, please consider this video today. You can find this and other great child safety products at www.MyPreciousKids.com.
Another product, very worthy of a practical parent pick award!
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