Teaching Kids About Danger

When I was a little girl living on our farm in Louisiana, the only safety precautions my parents felt the need to teach me were, how to get home through the woods from my grandparents house, don’t go to the pond by myself and wear shoes when walking through the “stickers.” How well I know this is a different day — some ways better — some ways worse, but the things children should know for their own protection includes a longer list than my childhood “don’ts.”
Some years ago, Art and I were traveling in an old Eastern European capital, which had become a favorite tourist destination for Scandinavians. We were wander-ing wide-eyed through a magnificent, ancient walled city when we spotted two adorable blond children who re-minded us of our twin blondies at home. Grandparents, as I have observed of myself, are notoriously sentimental when seeing small children. (We have amnesia about the squabbling, bickering and sheer exhaustion that goes with taking care of such small people.)
As we observed these little kids it became obvious to us that they were alone and lost. Wishing to help, we tried to approach them and get information. The big sister, about 7, was holding hands with her brother who appeared to be about 5. She spoke some English but would not let us help them. We probably reminded her of her parents’ admonition, “Don’t talk to strangers.” Because of our concern for their well being and our in-ability to penetrate that “admonition,” we simply decided to follow them from a distance and watch out for them. After about 20 minutes of wandering, we saw a frantic-looking father grab them in that embrace that all parents recognize that says, “I thought I might have lost you forever!”
After a few minutes of relieved and happy crying we approached the father to say his children had acted well on his instructions “do not talk to strangers,” but we wondered aloud with him what other advice to give them. There were no policemen around and so the chil-dren were really at a loss and could not trust anyone. What were they to do?
Another lost child was walking past our daughter Anna-Faith’s house in Manassas, Va. as she and I were getting into her car. The little girl was obviously upset and very frightened. She welcomed our help because she was so lost. Our questioning gave us her name and school but she had just moved and this was her first day at a new school.
She knew neither her phone number nor address and she got off the bus at the wrong stop. She was frantic until a woman driving a car slowly down the street stopped and scooped her up. The babysitter had called the school and found out that the bus driver knew where she had gotten off the bus; therefore she was driving around and searching that neighborhood. This one was obvious. From day one, teach your child your address and phone number.
For children there are many lessons to be learned and parents try to cover all the safety issues, but sometimes circumstances are so horrible that no foresight or precautions can cover them. Such as my last example. A little child was in the care of a grandparent who had a heart attack and died.
The child did not call 911 because he thought that was only for a fire and neither did he have permission to cross the street alone so neighborly help was unavailable. The child was stranded in a very tragic way until the mother returned. This particular child lives in a loving and wise home and will undoubtedly over-come that trauma.
My question, the one that parents will answer in many different ways, is how do you prepare your innocent children to navigate in this sometimes dangerous and unpredictable world?
PATRICIA HALL, the publisher’s wife