Remember to teach your children about saying “no” to strangers

This story was forwarded to me by a friend and happens to be in a nearby neighborhood. It terrifies me how easy it can be for our children to be in danger.

—– Original Message —–

Hi all,

I wanted to inform all of you in the neighborhoods surrounding Woodin about a frightening incident that happened to Brenna on her way home from school this afternoon. She was bringing up the tail end of walkers along 130th, lagging a little way behind the rest of the kids/parents who were walking up ahead of her (but still within eye sight), when she was stopped by a man in his late 40’s in a red SUV (possibly a Ford Expedition) who was stopped at the on the road exiting Upland View. She had been reading a book while she was walking, so hadn’t noticed exactly how long he’d been sitting there when she looked up from her book to see if it was clear for her to cross the street over to the other side where the "Upland View" sign is located. Before she stepped off the sidewalk to cross, he called to her out his open driver’s side window in a soft voice saying, "wanna see a pig, wanna see a pig?". Because he was talking softly, Brenna said she had to ask, "could you say that again, please?" because she wasn’t sure she heard him correctly. Then he repeated in a "soft voice" again (possibly trying to get her to come closer, so she could hear him), "wanna see a pig, wanna see a pig?"…"here, come over and touch it", motioning her over to the SUV. During the entire interaction, he was holding & wiggling around what Brenna described as a "rubbery brown salami stick" on top of a "white blanket or towel that was on his lap". At this point, Brenna became increasingly terrified and firmly said "no, thank you" and started running down the hill into Upland View as fast as she could. She said it very briefly crossed her mind to try & get a look at the license plate, but she was so afraid that he might turn around and try to grab her that she didn’t want to slow down enough to look.

We called 911 & the police came and took a statement/description from Brenna immediately after she got home. I called the school promptly to warn Theresa of the incident & later spoke with Jill, who said she would get something out to notify other parents tomorrow. Tonight, we are thanking God for watching over her and thankful that Brenna knew exactly what to do in this traumatic situation, due to the many "What You Should Do, If…" conversations we’ve had with her & her sister in the past…they paid off today!!

Please take a moment tonight or tomorrow morning to remind your children about "What They Should Do, If…" and remind them to always, always walk in a group or better yet, with an adult when coming or going to school!

Thanks,

Becky

With Halloween coming up we need to be extra careful of where are children are going, who’s houses they are going into and what they are taking from strangers. I love Halloween just as much as the next person but remember, this candy is coming from strangers. I know the above story has nothing to do with Halloween, but that’s what is on my mind. I feel as a mom with influence I need to help people remember the scary stuff out there too. I’m working on a Halloween Safety story that should be ready before the end of the weekend. Sometimes I do actually put some thought into what I write.