(CASA & Children's Advocacy Center)
| How Are the Children? Stranger Danger by Sandy Barber Does your child or grandchild know what a stranger is? Adults may tell their children to not accept rides, food or favors from strangers, but have you explained exactly what a stranger is? Statistically speaking, children and youth are much more likely to be sexually abused by someone they are related to or know well. According to Darkness to Light, more than 90% of children who are sexually abused know their abusers. Locally, the Children’s Advocacy Center in Fannin County gets 100-140 new cases of suspected sexual and physical abuse each year. In cases where sexual abuse is substantiated, the children and youth have known their abuser in nearly every single case. That being said, it still is important to educate our children about stranger danger, because the possibility exists, even if the odds are that our children are more likely to be harmed by someone we know rather than someone we don’t know. Stranger danger is also an important topic even if we feel like everyone knows everybody in our small towns. Kids need to know that a stranger is simply someone that they do not know. A stranger can be dressed really nice and be very friendly. But what about the person the child sees every time they go to the grocery store or to some other place? Familiarity can develop when you see someone over and over, which is especially common in our small, rural community. Therefore, it is important to also explain to your children that a stranger can be someone that you or your parents don’t know their last name, where they live or other personal information about them. The We Help Ourselves (WHO) program is one prevention program which includes lessons on stranger danger. It is being taught in a few, but not all, of our schools in Fannin County. The program is provided by volunteers of Mental Health and Mental Retardation Services of Texoma (MHMR), including Sandy Hood who works with me at the Children’s Center. She says she has had several elementary age children in our community tell her that they have been approached by strangers offering rides. Fortunately, these children did the right thing by declining the offer and getting away. Let’s all learn from these near misses. Talk with your kids or grandkids about what a stranger is and what to do if they are approached by one. Role play different scenarios so your kids can feel confident in how to respond. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s website at www.ncmec.org is one source for more information about this important topic. Call Paula Cawthon at MHMR at (903) 957-4865 if you are interested in learning more about becoming a WHO volunteer. Sandy Barber is the Executive Director of the Fannin County Children’s Center. She can be reached at sandy@fanninccc.org. |
Fannin County Children's Center
112 West Fifth Street Bonham,TX 75418 USA
Phone: 903.583.4339 Fax: 903.583.3074
Email: info@fanninccc.org