Although the video was an experiment conducted on an American playground, Kotze believes it is important for parents everywhere to be aware of safety issues involving their children. The results of the experiment were pretty chilling.
Watch the video:
Kotze said the frightening thing is that in all the experiments, each mom was confident she had warned her child never to talk to a stranger, and yet, not only did they talk to the stranger with his dog, but they actually walked off with him. “While parents do share safety tips with their children, they don’t necessarily advise them about the various vices that can be employed to win their trust,” he said.
He pointed out some golden rules outlined by recognised safety expert, Bob Stuber:
- Â Don’t Use the Word Stranger
Using the word stranger confuses children. Nowadays, children think a stranger is somebody they can smell before they can even see. A stranger can look like a normal person to a child.
- Â Be Smart, Not Scared
Give children specific examples of how to react when approached by a potential predator. When you’re scared and you respond out of fear, you respond in a predictable manner. Paedophiles know this.
- Â Learn to Spot Dangerous Actions
You’ve got to teach children to look at actions, not at people. Kids cannot discern if a person is good or bad by their appearance. For example, if a car drives by and the person smiles and continues to drive, that’s OK. If the person pulls over and tries to get a child to come to the car, that’s a dangerous action.
- Â Rules Change When a Child is in Danger
Children need to know that they do not need to display normal acceptable behaviour when they’re in trouble; they can act out and start screaming or throwing things around. If a child is in a store, for example, and somebody tried to grab him/her out of a store, he needs to know, ‘I can knock anything off this shelf to get attention’.
Kotze also reminded parents that kids are not afraid to talk about this topic. What they’re afraid of is silence, then they make up their own scenarios, he said. “Parents need to speak with their children often, not just once a year. Schools also need to talk to their students regularly,” he said.
Discuss your views on the video on our Facebook page
