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In an effort to keep our kids safe, we often tell them to not talk to strangers. But Pattie Fitzgerald says teaching little ones to look out for "tricky people" instead is more practical and effective.

For a long time, "don't talk to strangers" was one of the most prominant and universally accepted bits of advice offered to kids. That gave way to its easier to remember two word summary: "stranger danger". Pattie Fitzgerald, of Safely Ever After takes issue with the principle. She tells TODAY Parents...

"Most of the time, kids are learning 'stranger danger,' which is cute and it rhymes, but isn't really effective,"

She favors teaching children to watch out for what she calls "tricky people".

"'Tricky people' is certainly more effective because most strangers are not dangerous…kids think a stranger is going to be somebody who is kind of scary looking or scary sounding, but statistically, if someone wants to harm a child they are not going to appear scary, they're going to be charming, have an enticing offer, and seem friendly."

So if the people kids are supposed to avoid are by definition tricky, how do our little ones identify them? Pattie's method encourages children to evaluate the person's behavior and how they feel in about it.

"I tell kids to ask if what they're doing gives them a 'thumbs up' feeling or a 'thumbs down' feeling," said Fitzgerald.

She also has a pretty good rule of thumb for kids when dealing with adults.

"We teach kids to be nice and helpful, but kids need to know when it's OK to help and when it's not. One of the safety rules I suggest is that safe adults never ask kids for help. If someone tells a kid, 'I can't find my pet,' or 'I need help carrying something to my car,' for example, that's a thumbs down until you ask first — until you check with your safe adult."

Email me and let me know what you think. Should we teach Fitzgerald's "tricky people" method over "stranger danger"?

 

H/T: TODAY Parents