Stranger Danger

We were at Costco this morning while our house was being shown. There were two major groups of people shopping while we were there--retired people and moms with kids. Over by the milk, a nice gentleman said "Hi" to the kids and of course Jessica immediately said "Hi" back. She then said, "My name is Jessie." He talked to her for a minute and then said, "You are so cute, do you want to come to my house?" It sounds freaky when I write it down, but he was just trying to be sweet. She then says "Yeah." and starts to unbuckle the seat restraint. So, I pulled the cart to the side and talked to her about talking to strangers and not going with strangers. (This is something we still struggle with since bringing her home. She is very attached to us, but seeks attention from other people inappropriately.)

So as we are walking through the store I sang them the Janene Brady song, "Look for a grandma or mother with children." We talked about who was safe to ask for help and Christian pointed out all the "grandmas" (there were a lot) and the moms with kids. Then, as we passed a "grandpa" he blurted out, "Nope, not that guy--he's a bad guy." (The man didn't act like he heard--thank goodness.)

Christian then went on about how if he was ever taken by a bad guy he would get a stick and poke him and then run out of the car.

As we were in the checkout, the same guy that Jess was willing to go home with came up to us and asked her again if she wanted to go home with him. (He had seen me talk to her after the first incident.) She said yes again! So, I talked to her about it again. After we left the store, a gentleman followed us out that I had been visiting with in line. I asked him for a favor--to go up to her in the cart and ask her to go home with him. He did it and she giggled a little, then said, "No, that a stranger." Finally!

Obviously we still have some work to do with her in this area. Christian has a plan that involves a stick, so that's a start for him. I've got to go find that CD so I can freshen my memory of the safety song--I'm going to be needing it.