Our collection of free Stranger Danger Resources for parents and teachers provide advice, tips, guidelines and ‘how to’ booklets for teaching children and teenagers about personal safety and how to stay safe whether at home, in the park or on the street. Kids need to be cautious and prepared, and there are a variety of methods and plans that can be used to ensure that children are prepared to say ‘NO!’ to strangers if they are approached or lured.
ATTENTION PARENTS, TEACHERS & CARERS! …. in the vast majority of cases of child abuse or child cruelty the perpetrator is somebody that the child (or the child’s parent) already knows and who may be in a position of responsibility or trust.
SORRY! … we’ve removed all of the clickable links below because many are either out of date or need replacing entirely. We’ll get this sorted as quickly as possible but you can still google the websites yourself if you’re curious.
Netmums have a page or two of useful information and provide some interesting reading on balancing our perceptions of stranger danger with reality. They mention self defence, safer buildings, publications, etc., and there’s a handy checklist of basic safety rules too.
The National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children offer dozens of free printable advice sheets and booklets covering all aspects of child safety including ‘Stranger Danger’, ‘Know the Rules…Abduction and Kidnapping’ and personal safety advice for teenagers.
The Polly Klaas Foundation will send US residents a free Child Safety Kit with advice for all age groups. All Stranger Danger angles are covered from identifying unacceptable adult behaviours to a ‘WHAT IF?’ game to build confidence in an engaging way.
The Huffington Post has safety tips to help avoid child abduction courtesy of Dr Gail Gross. “… they don’t have to always be polite. Politeness can translate into doing what the potential abductor says.” There’s an interesting list of ‘windows of opportunity to escape’ too.
Kidscape (founded in 1985) offer free printable PDF packs and fact sheets with such titles as “Street Sense: Protect Yourself” for teenagers, and “Keeping Young Children Safe”. There are free information packs for parents, carers, teachers and professionals too.
Scholastic provide a guide to talking About Stranger Danger and encourage parents to have a frank, age-appropriate discussion with their child about personal safety and avoiding potential dangers. Advice covers Preschoolers (ages 3 to 5), through tweens to teens.
New York Police offer a printable pamphlet entitled ‘Step Away for Safety’ which is a great prompt for teachers and parents. It defines a stranger and also the methods they may use to lure a child. “You don’t need to be scared, you just need to be cautious and prepared.”
A to Z Teacher Stuff have lesson plans to teach about the dangers of going with strangers. Lesson 1 starts with a ‘Buddy System’ (the importance of safety in numbers can never be over-emphasised) through to Lesson 5 which is ‘Know your phone number and address’.
the National Criminal Justice Reference System have a free on-line guide detailing ‘What You Can Do To Protect Your Child’. You’ll find rules for older children and teenagers, action to take in an emergency, along with additional resources for parents and teachers.
Medical News Today suggest that we should concentrate on teaching about “…… skills and confidence, not fear and avoidance.” Importantly they remind us that most missing children are runaways or have been taken by non-custodial parents. Not by strangers.
Safe Child and their ‘Coalition for Children’ is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1982. The mission of the ‘Coalition for Children’ is enhancing the well-being of children, families and society. Articles includes ‘Who Are Stranger Offenders?’ and a ‘Child’s Point of View’.
Kid Power have a great collection of free library resources that offer on-line advice regarding important topics such as ‘Resisting the Illusion of Safety’ (when we become complacent or distracted) and ‘How to Pick a Good Self-Defense Program’.
Don’t forget to check out our own unique resources which include a great set of free printable stranger danger colouring page worksheets and our very popular internet safety posters.