Free range kids advocate Lenore Skenazy points out that telling children “don’t talk to strangers” can be dangerous advice. Sometimes kids find themselves in situations where they need help – they get lost, for instance. Skenazy’s advice:
Teach your children they can talk to strangers, they just cannot go off with strangers.
Security expert Bruce Schneier concurs, saying:
In a world where good guys are common and bad guys are rare, assuming a random person is a good guy is a smart security strategy. We need to help children develop their natural intuition about risk, and not give them overbroad rules.
Most “strangers” are good people willing to help. We should teach our children accordingly.
One thought on “DO Talk With Strangers”
That’s a tough call. Our children don’t have the life experience needed to decide whether someone is being helpful, or has ill intentions.
Risk assessment generally has two components: likelihood and impact. While the likelihood of your child running into someone bad while looking for help is low, the impact could be catostrophic. When my kids are young, I’ll teach them that they don’t talk to strangers without family around, with the exception of uniformed police, fire, etc. Certainly as the kids get older and can make informed decisions, then the rules change.