SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — Experts are urging parents to talk to their child about safety before the new school year starts.
Keeping our children safe is one of the biggest concerns parents have.
“As soon as their children are out in the world, certainly once they are going to school, it’s a great time to start having conversations about what to do if they were to face a potentially dangerous situation,” said Stacy Garrett, vice president of content & community engagement for National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
We often hear the phrase “stranger danger,” however, the NCMEC recommends not using the word stranger.
“What we found is that kids are more confused by that topic than anything. There’s also a factor where some of the instances where kids are victimized not by someone that they don’t know. So instead, we just talk to them about potential risky situations and we really want the goal being that they feel empowered. So that they know what could happen, but that they know that they have support and that they know what to do if they were to face a risky situation,” said Garrett.