Livingston Police Department

What is a Stranger?  A stranger is someone your child does not know well.  Make sure your child doesn’t think that only “bad” looking people are strangers.  Teach them about safe strangers that they can ask for help. These include police officers, security guards, employees in a store, parents with children.

Children Need to be Taught about Strangers  You must find a balance. Children need to know enough to keep them safe, but not enough to scare them.  You can make games to teach them. For example, when out in public ask your child to identify safe strangers.

What else do Children need to Know?  Make sure your child knows never to get into a vehicle with a stranger unless they have permission from a parent.  Teach your child to never take food or drinks from anyone without asking a parent.  Tell your child that an adult should not ask a child for help with anything, i.e. finding a lost pet, directions, etc.

Don’t say, “Don’t Talk to Strangers”…  Saying this may confuse a child because they see you talk to strangers all the time, i.e. the clerk in a store, someone you meet in the park.  Instead, help your child recognize the warning signs of suspicious behavior, such as when an adult asks them to disobey their parents or do something without permission, asks them to keep a secret, asks children for help, or makes them feel uncomfortable in any way.

What should a Child do?  Teach children that if someone makes them feel uncomfortable, they should run away screaming. Teach them to run toward people and run toward the back of any car that approaches them (driving in reverse is harder) and to keep screaming the whole time. Then, they need to tell a trusted adult what happened.  If a child is grabbed by someone, they should kick and scream, “This is not my Mommy/Daddy!”  It is important that a child knows that it is okay for them to say “No” to an adult when they feel uncomfortable.

Sexual Predators  You can search online for registered offenders. Simply search for “NJ sexual offenders registry” and you will find a link to the NJSP site.

Sexual Predators  If there is a sexual offender living in your neighborhood, you can show your child a photo of the person. You do not need to go into detail about what the person did. You can tell your child that this person tried to do something bad to a child. Tell your child that if they see the person, they should avoid them and if the person tries to talk to them, they should run away and tell someone.

Sexual Predators  Teach your child that their body is private, and that they must not let someone touch their private parts (what is covered by a bathing suit).  Teach your child to immediately tell you if someone tries to touch them, asks them to undress, tries to undress them, or tries to get them to touch that person.

Any Questions?