its a really hard subject i think, i have al;ways told my girls that if anyone asks them to go somewhere no matter who they are then they need to come and tell me firt so i will no where they are, that way if its a stranger or anything i can say no, this has worked really well with my dd1 and dd2 who are 14 and 8

i was told when i started pre-school by my mum if some one came to pick me up or some one came up to me if they didnt know a certain name of one of my pets then i wasnt to go!

this is guna be a hard topic for me with my dd! as no were seems to be safe these days! and its getting more and more stressfull

when i was younger we were aloud to go round the block on our own as every one new every one else! and if a kid screamed wether or no they hert themself or was fighting u had all the mums up at the windows looking out!

my aunti is a childminder! and her children have paswords!

and so does my sisters kids at school and one day i went up to get them and had rushed out the door b4 my sis had told me bout the bloody password thing needless to say i was stood up there a good hour as i left my fone whilst rushing! even the kids insisting i was their aunti and they new me ect ect they wouldnt even ring my sister to confirm !

only when i could leave was when my sister had come up looking for me as i had been gone so long!

now every time i go up they dont even bother asking me now !

My dd is five and just lately likes to talk to anyone and everyone, however she's very wary about getting too close to people. When we go shopping I often show her where to go (customer services) if we lose each other and I tell her that I wouldn't ever leave the shop without her and that she mustn't leave the shop even if someone tells her that I'm outside. Obviously I don't let her out of my sight and she's not one for running off but I think it's good to have a plan for just in case.

I started mentioning to DS when he was 5 different times because I know at that age they don't pay too much attention or they forget soon.  But now he is 6 and I keep mentioning him, everytime we go to a crowded place like a market, shopping centre or busy streets.

Or when any situation come up.  Like the other day we were walking and he was running ahead of me.  And this man approached walking opposite and when he was near my son he smiled and said to him "give me 5" and my son jumped to touch his hand and they say bye bye.  All very inocent, I know but you hear extange things in tv and papers.  Imagine that this person do this everyday to became friendly and "not an extranger any more" and after that something serious happen.  So I told DS not do do that anymore and I was very serious talking to him.  But I will keep saying and saying until he get the message completely.

My daughter got that one from the fire service. Sounds like a good idea doing the same with the police, definitely. I'll speak to the school, thanks. Was reading Mr. Jelly to her last night and she asked what "kidnapped" was and I did my best to explain without giving her nightmares!

My son got a really good book from school when he was in reception class, the police came in and did a talk about "Stranger Danger" and they all got a story book to bring home, that was really good and told them what to do etc. in different situations.

The Fire Service also did one about the dangers of Matches and Fire etc. and again it was a story book they came home with.

Maybe have a word with the school and ask them to invite the police in to talk about it etc.

I have always told my ds (7 today) not to talk to strangers but when I'm with him he can't stop himself talking.

It's important for kids to have a basis understanding of "stranger danger" as early as poss but you have to bear in mind that they spend most (probably all) of their early life under supervision from someone they know.

I tried to explain to my kids early on that it was ok to speak to strangers if they were with me or another adult they know but not if they were alone.

It's important for kids to know who it is safe to approach if they should find themselves lost or parted from you, teach them "safe" people to approach ie Police, stewards etc.

It's important not to scare you children into becoming an introvert but ensure they are "savvy" about strangers.

Just wondering how and when people have gone about warning their kids about not going off with strangers?