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The concept of ‘stranger danger’ has long been taught to kids by parents hoping to instil a cautious understanding of the outside world into their children.
But for mum Marcie Whalen, the idea of ‘stranger danger’ can be harmful, as she explained in a recent Instagram video.
Needless to say, Marcie’s comments sparked *quite* the online debate, but firstly, let’s take a look at what the doting mum - who has five daughters - actually said.
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Watch the video below:
She explained in her video, captioned ‘why to not teach stranger danger’: “Here’s why Dean and I don’t teach our girls about strangers or stranger danger.”
Marcie went on: “And while that can be healthy and I understand where it’s coming from, parents are trying to protect their kids, keep them safe… but most people are good people and we want our girls to be outgoing and have conversations with people and to, in general, be hospitable to those around them.
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“And so instead of talking about strangers, we talk about strange behaviour.”
She added: “Because the thing is, children are most often abused or hurt by people they know, whether it’s a close family member or acquaintance, it’s very rarely a stranger. And so, I want my kids to understand what strange behaviour is.”
Marcie also told her followers that instead of encouraging her children to simply avoid strangers, she’s instead made them aware of suspicious sorts of behaviour.
She shared: “My girls understand what to look for, whether it’s in somebody they know really well or somebody they don’t know at all, it’s categorised as strange behaviour and therefore the red flags go up.
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“Anybody can have strange behaviour, whether we know them or not and when that starts to happen, they immediately come to us.”
Many of Marcie’s followers were in support of her decision, leaving comments like: “Smart!”, “Good decision” and “Wow, this is great advice.”
However, other social media users suggested parents find a balance when teaching their children how to interact with strangers.
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One Instagrammer commented: “Or you just teach your kids about both. Stranger danger is supposed to protect them from strangers outside of the home and strange behaviours can protect your child from people you know whether it’s family or friends.”
Another added: “I agree with this, but some strangers know how to gain a child's trust and appear safe to them, so maybe it should be a healthy mix.”
“The only thing I’ll disagree with is most people are not good people, the world is more bad then good,” said someone else.
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/themarciewhalenTopics: Parenting