My thanks to the local police who came in to talk to the Year 5 and Year 6 children this week with a presentation and lots of important messages. The presentation included lots of different scenarios that got the children to think carefully about if a situation was safe and what actions could be taken. The term 'Stranger Danger' is now seen as outdated and unhelpful. 'Clever Never Goes' replaces 'Stranger Danger, and the 'Clever Never Goes' programme has been developed to help children respond to difficult situations. Research shows that teaching children simply to avoid strangers fails to keep them safe as strangers are often more likely to help a child than to harm them and conversely, it can often be people known to children that pose the greatest threat.
Furthermore, 'stranger danger' demands that all strangers should be treated with suspicion, which breeds fear in our communities. This has led to children spending less time outdoors, fuelling a rise in obesity and mental health problems.
Junior age parenting is difficult as it is the time when the children are developing more independence, trying out new freedoms and (beyond the online safety where they could be in danger in their own homes) making choices and decisions in the real world. As parents we need to equip our children with strategies to help them cope with 'tricky situations' and these will serve them in secondary school and in life beyond school.
Talk to other parents and friends about what responsibilities they give their children, and what rules and guidance you have in place should they go somewhere without you. Clever Never Goes helped the children think carefully about tricky situations and what the best choices might be in those scenarios. It is always good parenting to help children understand that with freedom comes responsibility and of course there are levels of maturity, awareness and trust to consider. Please also take a look at the Clever never Goes website and videos.