6 year old. Advice?

Ok.
I need some ideas.
How do you explain to a six year old about murderers & rapists without causing psycological damage??
I wandered off to the bus stop this afternoon to pick DD1 up, to be told by another child 'She went with Lydia.'
I looked at the bus driver. 'She got off at a friends house.' Then told me the friends first & last name.
I had no idea who it was or anything about them, let alone where they lived!! When I said this to the bus driver he was suprised!
Needless to say I was furious!

Thankfully I have our home number on Jaz's bag, even though I wasn't there & when the friends mum couldn't get onto me she rang the school as I think she was just as scared about the whole thing as me!
DH was on the phone to the school when I got home. They were trying to let me know what had happened.
Once she was home I grounded her (first time ever) & tried to explain why she can't do that.
Problem is that she is 6. Way too young & innocent to have any idea about what the world can be like.
When I said she could've been dead all she said to me was 'but I'm a kid, I can't die. I'm not old.'
She thinks we will all die in order of age. Dad first DS last.

I rang the bus company to complain to be told that this has to come back on Jaz too - :wtf: ??? I assured him that she was grounded & in rouble, but really!
Kids manipulate people every day to get their own way. Are they really that ignorant?
I've told him that Jaz won't be on the bus again. Apparently the same driver has had more than one complaint about the same thing. One only yesterday.

My daughter has a tendance of walking off or talking to strangers. I explained to her that there are very bad people out there is this world who do every bad things to children. She asked like what. I told her that they might touch children in their private parts (when daughter was 5 we hired a book about good touch, bad touch ? it also told them where their private parts are). These bad people might take you away from your mummy and daddy and you may never see them again.
Now every time she sees a person she says ?mummy that could be a bad man/woman?.

Mumma_lion

Ok, it's really important that you do some stranger danger education NOW.

When DD1 was younger we talked about "bad people" who kidnap children which means they take them away from their families and hurt them (without going into detail). That's all the info they need. It's also important they understand that Bad people can look and act like Good people, so that's why it's important that a Safe adult knows where you are at all times, that we don't talk to strangers and we don't go off with strangers, even if they said that mum or dad said to go with them, etc. Talk about who the safe adults are in your DD's life (family members, teachers she trusts, etc). Also talk about what things she could do if she was approached by a stranger.

I would also be speaking with her class teacher and asking for some personal safety education at school ASAP too, to reinforce the message. I'm surprised they haven't done that already because in both of DD's schools they did this in kinder then in grade 1 as well.

ETA - I would also be explaining how mad with worry you were when you didnt' know where she was, so she understands that even though she knew where she was, that adults are looking out for her too.

I have had a talk with my boys about this kind of stuff. I told them that some people are mean and might hurt them so never to go off with people you don't know. Even if they have a dog or offer a lolly or something yell at them that they don't want it and run off. Every now and then I reinforce it so they don't forget.

Is this Lydia a friend from school that was on the bus? That is a bit trickier if that was the case but the bus driver shouldn't let your child off without permission from you, either verbal or with a note!

Yeah, Lydia is a school friend, & thats why I'm so p*ssed at the bus driver. There wasn't even verbal permission! I always tell them or ring the school if she's to go somewhere else, or if I'm picking her up atc. ALWAYS.

Well. I sat Jaz down last night & tried to talk to her.
I gave her a list of about 4 people other than DH & I that she could go with if it was needed. Then she kept saying to me, 'But what about ........ & ........?' She just didn't get what I was trying to say.
I am going to talk to her teacher this afternoon & see if she can have a chat to her about it all. I'm hoping she listens to her.