Today we have a sneak peek from Melissa Harker Ridenour’s children’s non-fiction book, What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers:
What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers offers a kid- friendly solution to parental fears. It’s targeted to elementary-aged children, but, ideally, is meant to be a shared experience with parent & child / teacher & student.
The concept of “stranger” is difficult for kids to understand. This book explains the concept in a very reassuring way and teaches children a method for determining whom they should and shouldn’t trust. It also offers an interactive format of multiple choice solutions to potentially dangerous situations involving strangers and a chapter for parents.
What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers is available in print from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble and Booksamillion.
And now, from What Would You Do? A Kid’s Guide to Staying Safe in a World of Strangers…
Chapter 1 What is a Stranger?The world seems like a scary place sometimes, doesn’t it? You hear adults talking about bad things that happen. That can be pretty frightening to you as a child in a grown-up world. You hear about war and terrorists. You hear about killer storms. Sometimes you even hear news reports about child abductions. Do you know what it means to be abducted? If a child is abducted, it means he is taken against his will by someone. The abductor might harm him or ask him to do something that may make him feel uncomfortable.
Most children who are abducted are returned safely. A smart and tough team of police officers and special police from the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) carefully look for them. Nevertheless, hearing stories of such things can be terrifying. Don’t worry! Our country is doing everything it can to protect you from terrorists, natural disasters and storms. Your parents will try to protect you from any kind of harm or threat from a possible abductor. And you will learn in this guidebook that you can take an active part in protecting yourself as well.
Possibly you have heard some adults use the expression Stranger Danger. This is not a very good thing to say. It might make you think that all strangers are bad and dangerous. The truth is that most people, including most strangers, are good. But some people, including some strangers, aren’t good.
Wouldn’t it be terrific if you could tell the bad people from the good people? But you can’t always tell such a thing. Therefore, you must learn to be careful around all strangers. To do this, you must understand what a stranger is and whom to trust. As you get better at doing this, I’m sure the world will seem a whole lot less scary to you.
If you were asked to draw a picture of a stranger, what would he or she look like in your drawing? Would he look ugly or mean? Many children describe strangers as people who appear ugly and wicked. Even regular looking people who seem friendly or kind should be considered strangers to you if you don’t know them. Even if a person knows your name, has been around you, talked to you or is someone you have seen before, it doesn’t mean you “know” that person. You still should consider the person a stranger and be careful.
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