We learned last night that a Level 2 offender lives two doors up and across the street from us. Neighbor Chuck (father of Chuckie and Samantha) heard the news from a police officer who happens to also be our neighbor. I dig some checking and confirmed it.
As Chuck was telling Nicki and me last night all the other kids were outside except CJ. He's the oldest of the Hayes kids, 8 years old and bright and mature. He listened intently, waited for Chuck to leave, then started asking what that meant. So Nicki and I kinda told him. But we both struggled a bit to explain it in his terms.
(Nicki: "It means he likes kids like I like your Dad, or like you like...."
CJ: "Chocolate.")
He understood it eventually and we got yet another chance to give the Stranger Speech that we both have perfected.
But here's the rub. No pun intended.
What is the right balance between explaining how careful they need to be and completely freaking them out? I struggle with this a lot. I don't want to unnecessarily introduce fears to them that aren't there. With me as their parent, there's a possibility they will grow to know anxiety as I have. I don't want to perpetuate that, especially at such an early age. And I don't want them to hide in fear every time someone that they don't know ends up a party we're at, or walking through the grocery store.
But they have to know that we're serious, that there are serious consequences to not being safe and careful and alert. I can't take the chance that Jack, in all his sweetness and naivety, would go with a stranger.
So what do you do? How do you strike the balance?
1 comment:
That's so scary. And bothers me more that you would never have known about it if your neighbor hadn't told you. It wasn't like they sent a bulletin out or anything. I guess the best thing is just to talk to the kids about stranger danger and letting them talk to you about anything. Scary. I don't like that one bit.
I do, however, like the word "mongering." We need to use that more often.
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