While I'm late with a birth story and one month post for Little Brother, I wanted to get this out while it's still fresh in my mind.
Yesterday, we attended the birthday party of my best friend's children at a local park. The party festivities took place in the pavilion, adjacent to the playground. When the party wrapped up and all the other guests had left, I asked DH to move the car closer since it had started sprinkling. While I was getting Little Brother situated in his carseat, I was also keeping an eye on Mungee. She was by the swings where a family had just started to play. The next thing I saw was a man lifting Mungee into one of the swings. I walked over and he said to me "She wanted help getting in the swing". I know his intentions were innocent, though I typically think it's inappropriate to make that kind of contact with another person's child without permission. My bigger concern at this point is the fact that Mungee had absolutely zero fear, reservation or apprehension about this complete stranger.
Mungee and I have discussed strangers, mainly when she sees people walking or riding their bike outside while we're driving somewhere and says "Can I hug them?" This prompted me to begin to explain the concept of strangers. To her, a stranger is "a person we don't know", but she doesn't get the deeper meaning. She's approaching three years old.
At what age did you begin to talk about stranger danger? When did it sink in, when did your child(ren) get it? What did you find to be the best resources to facilitate the discussion?
I appreciate your input!
