"How to spot a predator." Really?
'How to spot a predator.' Really? Our free-range parenting expert sounds off on some parents' continuing 'stranger danger' fears of child predators.
'How to spot a predator.' Really? Our free-range parenting expert sounds off on some parents' continuing 'stranger danger' fears of child predators.
Hi Readers.
Still trying to figure out what part of this Circle of Moms post, "How to Spot a Child Predator," irks me the most. It鈥檚 by a lady who was at a cafe and heard a man asking two third grade boys questions like, 鈥淲hat鈥檚 your favorite subject?鈥� and 鈥淲ho do you want to marry when you grow up?鈥�
He also asked them some math problems, so the lady immediately 鈥渦nderstood鈥� what she was hearing:
"鈥ike a thunderbolt, it hits me! Those boys are being聽groomed."
How exactly did she know he was up to no good? She trusted her gut. And now she wants the rest of us to trust it, too:
"I wrote this so you鈥檇 read about the types of questions a potential predator uses so you can prepare your kids.
笔濒别补蝉别听don鈥檛 scare your kids, but do talk to them. Use these, or examples like them, so your kids know what bad strangers ask."
Except that there is no evidence whatsoever that this was a 鈥渂ad stranger,鈥� 聽or that these are the type of questions a bad stranger would ask!
It鈥檚 like saying, 鈥淚 would have been raped by the man in the grocery store today if I hadn鈥檛 realized what he was up to! So I鈥檓 alerting the rest of you: If a man ever asks, 鈥楧o you know what aisle the paper towels are in?鈥� Run!聽He is a聽bad stranger. Don鈥檛 thank me 鈥� I鈥檓 just trying to help!鈥�
Uh鈥hanks. But no thanks.
海角大神 has assembled a diverse group of the best family and parenting bloggers out there. Our contributing and guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor, and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs.聽Lenore Skenazy聽blogs at聽Free-Range Kids.