'Situational awareness is the new stranger danger'

It used to be that teaching your child about strangers was a good thing. 

But time and time again it seems that isn't enough to protect them from the lurking stranger that walks around with bad intentions. 

A great example of this was revealed by a crime reporter on TikTok. She shared some valuable information about stranger danger in her experience. 

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In a video, she says that in her experience as a crime reporter, it is not worth it teaching your kids about stranger danger. 

She has experienced moments where she would ask a parent if their child would be led away by a stranger, and the parents would confidently say that their kids wouldn't because they know about stranger danger. 

And then, low and behold, they test the kid and the kid walks away with a stranger. 

She believes the reason behind this is that children don't really understand the concept of what a stranger is. 

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She goes on to share that she would rather teach a child about situational awareness. 

"Situational awareness is knowing what is going on around us. It involves drawing a kind of mental map that helps us understand where we are, what surrounds us and what are the challenges that lie ahead. This ability allows us to see clearly what is happening to develop an effective coping plan." (Psychology Spot)

It is more of a refined and guided approach to teaching our children how to respond to varied situations. Not all situations will be about a stranger, but we have to think about broadening their ideology of what it means to be placed in an unlikely situation. 

For instance, they could be faced with a natural disaster, or a robbery, or an emergency evacuation. Equipping them with the tools to feel prepared is their biggest asset. 

WATCH the video below, where she shares what works better than teaching your kids stranger danger. Courtesy of TikTok. 

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