Former police officer turned children’s author Kate Power recently released her second book which focuses on child safety.
The Sydney-based mother-of-three has written an informative guide for parents to be used to teach kids about ‘stranger danger’ and how to spot suspicious behaviour when out alone in public.
Ms Power’s latest work, My Tricky EYE-SPY, coincides with recent research which revealed the vast majority of children will walk away with a stranger just 30 seconds after meeting them.
According to the author, children under 12 represent a high-risk category because ‘their age affects their capacity to respond to an unfamiliar situation’.
Speaking on Ten Daily, the best-selling writer revealed how to get the message through to young kids and tips for making sure the information sticks.
Recent research revealed the vast majority of children will walk away with a stranger – just 30 seconds after meeting them
In recent years, a number of high profile child abduction cases as well as the increased reporting of near miss stranger danger incidents have raised concerns amongst parents that lessons are not getting reaching their kids.
And while Ms Power admitted that ‘stranger danger’ does not happen very often, the consequences are always extremely grave.
‘Simply telling your child ‘don’t talk to strangers’ is not enough.
‘Stranger danger is a difficult concept for young children to grasp – we can’t always tell from someone’s physical appearance if they are ‘good’ or ‘bad’.
‘There are so many social experiments that show children will happily walk away with strangers after 30 seconds, despite being told not to speak to people they don’t know,’ she said.
‘[The book] teaches children about tricky behaviour as opposed to tricky people, so it focuses on the actions rather than the type of person.’
Ms Power recommended speaking to children about the danger of unknown persons at the earliest age possible
Ms Power recommended speaking to children about the danger of unknown persons at the earliest age possible, as soon as they can retain such social instruction.
My Tricky EYE-SPY contains bright, colourful illustrations, rhyming language and child friendly humour to make the educational lesson all about fun.
‘Children learn best through fun and engagement, so injecting humour, bright colours and rhyming language are important for the message to cut through.’
Asked about how often parents should drill the message home to children, Ms Power said chats should be held once or twice a month.
‘With children, it’s all about repetition.
‘We have scenario questions in the book too which asks children questions about what they would do in specific situations which helps them to learn the behaviour.’
‘The scenario questions are like a dress rehearsal – the more you act them out the more ingrained they become’
One of the questions asks kids what they would do if a stranger said they knew their parents or were acting on behalf of them.
‘Most kids think if this is a nice person, they are no longer a stranger,’ she explained.
‘Children can be easily fooled by a manipulative adult who may mask their intentions by initially asking for help, saying they know the child’s parents, or by providing some form of inducement in the form of a sweet, puppy or other distraction.
‘The scenario questions act like a dress rehearsal – the more you play them out the more ingrained they become.’