I would have to agree, that so long as you reinforce as a parent what is appropriate and what is not, some annoying stranger isnt going to affect them too much.
I do the naration thing naturally, I believe language skills come from listening to lots of it and being spoken too alot as a child, so I babble away to DD alot. I say things like "Lets change that dirty nappy" etc Who wants to operate in silence.. or maybe its just me haha
Yeah I agree about the sexual abuse thing, I'm not too convinced. Generally we get too hung up on warning about strangers, and the majority of sexual abuse is perpertrated by someone in the childs family, or someone they trust (family friend etc).
That mention about asians, yeah that is a cultrual thing too. Not only is blonde hair blue eyes a rarity there, they also value children very highly so if someone compliments their children and talks to them they are very pleased and happy and want you to continue. I guess you could have explained to your son if he was a little older the different perspective. I was a blonde haired blue eyed fair skinned child and remember a few times on holidays where asian tourists took photos with me. I was older though around 10 or 12? So my mum could explain to me the who and whys so it wasn't that big of a deal.
I have to say I agree with Nickle, linking to sexual abuse seems like paranoia to me - and in my mind devalues the article a little. Nothing wrong with appreciating little ones have and need boundaries which should be respected but I find it a bit over the top, and I would not like to live in a world where people daren't share a smile, a compliment and a pat on the head in the supermarket.
Personally what I find weird and always have as never part of my life growing up, is the encouragement of children to cuddle each other when saying bye, I don't get it, why not just a wave.
Reply With Quote
Bookmarks