To Have or Not To Have "The Talk."
"Another Chicken Story: The Stranger Danger," is a new resource meant to serve as an introduction to the stranger danger discussion between children and their parents, educators, child safety program officers, during Vacation Bible School, or as a complement to other children’s ministries.
There's barely a week that goes by when we don't hear of a new child abduction or attempted abduction happening in the USA (statistically speaking, there are two to three successful child abductions every week by people that a child doesn't know, and no one knows for sure how many failed attempts to kidnap a child are made each year). While the Stranger Danger message has been around for a long time, I don't believe that what we've been doing has been effective enough, as evidenced by the numbers of children still taken every year, and that's what prompted me to write this children's book on the subject. My hope is that children will remember this story and the lesson taught within the story.
Clearly, the Stranger Danger message is an awkward subject to bring up to a child, and it's because of that that many people simply tell their children that they shouldn't talk to strangers. I believe this conversation needs to be addressed with more than just a few words, especially as children become more mobile with each new school year. While you don't want to frighten the child, parents need to say something to help equip them in case someone they don't know should attempt to lure them away with clever words and a smile.
The difficulty with this subject is compounded when some say: 'Even though there are hundreds of thousands of children reported missing in America annually, only about 150 of them a year are being lured away and harmed by strangers.' (*In the UK, the number of children taken by strangers each year is nearly double that amount). No matter how well intended, statements like that have left many parents with the impression that they needn't worry about their children having an encounter with a stranger who means to do them harm, since the odds are favorable that their child won't be one of those who are abducted in any given year. Statistically speaking, they are correct; the odds are in their favor. But those numbers won't mean anything to the children or to the parents of the 115 to 150 unfortunate children who will be abducted this year by dangerous strangers in America. Many of those children will never return home to their families, and those who do will never be the same again.
"Another Chicken Story: The Stranger Danger," will open the door to this uncomfortable conversation with a child, in a non-threatening way. A story told in metered rhyme with colorful characters and illustrations, this simple book will afford grownups an opportunity to discuss what children should do if a stranger approaches them and tries to trick them into helping them or into going somewhere with them. It also provides the opportunity to explain to the child what they should do if anyone, even if it's a friend or someone else they know, tries to get them to do something that they know is wrong or don't feel comfortable about.
Much like a fire drill, children everywhere should be equipped with this life saving information - which we all hope they will never need to use.
Kenneth R. McClelland
(Click on the picture)
