It wasn’t that long ago that “stranger danger” meant a whispered warning about a white van or someone offering candy at a playground. That felt… manageable. You could teach your kid a short song or a clear, simple phrase. We all knew the script.
But today? Our kids aren’t just playing outside; they are navigating a vast, borderless, and often unmoderated digital landscape. The “stranger” isn’t a person you can point to on the street. It’s an avatar in a game, a DM on Instagram, or a face on a random chat. Honestly, it’s enough to make any parent feel like they’re fighting a shadow war with a terrible instruction manual. It’s confusing, and if we, the adults, are confused, imagine how it feels to a ten-year-old.
The real key to online safety isn’t about setting up a thousand parental control locks—though we’ll definitely cover those—it’s about having a real, ongoing conversation. You know what? It’s about building a better, stronger safety reflex in your kids. They need to know what a dangerous interaction looks like, what it feels like, and how to just walk away.
Continue reading “The Family Guide to Online Stranger Safety”
