A kid is standing at our door, and says, "Hey, do you know a kid named Marty?" Jeremy answers, "Umm, no?" The kid, who was definitely under the age of ten and unattended says, "I think he lives somewhere around here, so I am just going door-to-door looking for him."
Does this sound STUPID and WRONG to anyone else? I mean, we don't live in the Gaza Strip or anything, but we live in a city. A city that has murderers and rapists and pedophiles living in it. I don't know any personally, but statistics say they exist. My neighbors are great (minus Crazy Lady, of course), but I can't vouch for anyone who lives beyond a two-house radius from me. Would you want your child knocking on random doors, alone, at night? I would NOT. So, I told Jeremy maybe we should do something about it.
Jeremy: Like what?
Veronica: Shouldn't we teach this kid a lesson?
Jeremy: Dear God. How would we teach this child a lesson WITHOUT getting arrested as a result?
Veronica: *pondering* Call him back to the house, invite him in, and then tell him that we COULD have been killers, and now that he was in the house, we could have killed him and no one would be able to save him?
Jeremy: And how would that NOT get us arrested after the kid ran home and told him mom and dad what you said?
Veronica: What WE said.
Jeremy: Oh, hell no. You are on your own.
Veronica: Don't you think it is important to educate our youth? It takes a village, Jeremy. A VILLAGE.
Jeremy: I feel like it is natural selection. If that kid is dumb enough to do that and gets killed, then ...
Veronica: Jeremy!!! You are so cruel!!
Jeremy: You were JUST telling me we should tell this stupid kid we are going to kill him, and now you are defending him?
Veronica: You know I think natural selection should only apply to adults. It is not his fault he is an idiot and unaware of stranger danger and is allowed to roam city streets by himself, looking for danger. Clearly the adults in his life have failed him. Which is why we -- the VILLAGE -- need to take him under our wings and save him from his parents.
Jeremy: I have a baseball game to watch, so if you are done talking about killing neighbor kids ... (*walks away*)
Isn't stranger danger still something that people are frightening their children with? I remember listening to the cassette tape "The Safety Kids" so many times that we wore out a copy and my mom rushed out to buy a new one the same day ("We're gonna be smart / And we're gonna be CAREFUL. / We're gonna be the Safety Kids./ Learn the rules / and YOU can be one TOO! / Kids like me ... / Kids like YOU!").
I also have VIVID memories of a Winnie the Pooh VHS that taught me to be "too smart for strangers" while traumatizing me. I can't be sure if this was a real part of the video or something my terrified mind added in, but I remember a kid thinking it was okay to be alone with an adult because the adult was a doctor, and therefore safe, but the doctor was NOT SAFE and that child was NOT TOO SMART FOR STRANGERS and OH MY GOD, my doctor is so nice! Is he going to use Not-Okay Touching?!?!
I also have VIVID memories of a Winnie the Pooh VHS that taught me to be "too smart for strangers" while traumatizing me. I can't be sure if this was a real part of the video or something my terrified mind added in, but I remember a kid thinking it was okay to be alone with an adult because the adult was a doctor, and therefore safe, but the doctor was NOT SAFE and that child was NOT TOO SMART FOR STRANGERS and OH MY GOD, my doctor is so nice! Is he going to use Not-Okay Touching?!?!
Long story short, my mom scared me appropriately, and I was never snatched, hurt, or sold to human traffickers (though my dad threatened to sell us to gypsies roughly every other day). I can't say the same for kids around here, however. When will scaring kids be in vogue again?
I feel like it was kind of opposite when I was a kid. It wasn't as scary out there in the world so playing outside without parents supervising and going door to door selling cookies wasn't a big deal.
ReplyDeleteBut now? Oh hell no. I would never let my child go door to door without me.
*putting on my nerd hat*
ReplyDeleteThe National Centers for Missing and Exploited Children is trying to get parents to get rid of the "stranger danger," and teach kids about dangerous situations instead. They want parents to teach their children about the safest adults, in case they get lost. We're supposed to teach our children to look for women, preferably with children, if they get lost.
*taking off nerd hat*
You totally should have screwed with that kid.
Sara -- I know. My kids will never go door-to-door!
ReplyDeleteSarah P -- I was always upset about that "find a mother with kids" thing because my anxious mind was like, "OH MY GOD, what if that lady kidnapped THOSE kids, and she will take me too?" Why are ladies safer than men? Okay, rant over.
You were just trying to educate that stupid boy! Too bad your hubs didn't 'get' your rationale!
ReplyDeleteIf he was going around unsupervised, knocking on doors, the least of his worries is that his parents don't warn him about strangers. They probably didn't even notice he'd left the house.
ReplyDeleteYou were just trying to educate that stupid boy! Too bad your hubs didn't 'get' your rationale!
ReplyDeleteIf he was going around unsupervised, knocking on doors, the least of his worries is that his parents don't warn him about strangers. They probably didn't even notice he'd left the house.
ReplyDelete