(Um that would be me....)
So I teach my kids about strangers and all the typical warnings that accompany the lecture.
I never thought of myself as a stranger though.
On the way to school, I spy a kid I see all the time. He's probably 1st grade at most and usually walks with his brother. He is sitting alone, on the corner, crying his eyes out. I don't see his brother anywhere and this kid is too young to just be out alone. I stop the car (blocking traffic) and go up to see if he is okay. He starts crying about how his head got hurt and some kid hit him with a rock. I told him we are only a block from the crossing guard and we should go to school. I start to help him up but the moment my fingers touch him, he cringes and gets a wild look in his eyes. He panics so I back away and point to the school, reminding him that the crossing guard is right there and he should go get her. He took off running.
Holey moley. I am the stranger. In his eyes, I'm the creepy person who might kidnap him.
I stopped at the crossing guard and told her that a boy was hurt and she walked over to meet him. I dropped the kids off and stopped to talk to her again on the way home. He REALLY did think I was a kidnapper who was going to snatch him. Fortunately, she knows me. Even though I've never thought of myself as a stranger, I'm glad they had the common sense to run for the crossing guard. I *could* have been a creep.
Random note and question for the JU crowd: I've always told my son that if he is lost and can't find me, then he needs to find a mom with a baby. I figure that's *probably* the safest person to look for. I used to tell them to look for someone in uniform, but that's not easy for a kid to distinguish. Walmart is full of people in varied uniforms....not everyone works there and as for the ones that DO work there, a uniform doens't guarentee sanity or safety. What do you think? What do you tell (or plan to tell) your kids?