Approaching stranger danger

[littlelara]

Hi all,
I've just been watching dr phil (don't judge me ) and the subject was predators, stranger danger, all that.
Thing is, it has left me with more questions than answers.
DD is about to turn 5, so I would say she is approaching an age where she would have some level of understanding if I were to talk to her about these things - and I want to, I just don't know how.
I want her to be as safe as humanly possible (don't we all?) but I don't want her to be fearful. I believe that if she feels empowered she is less likely to be a target, but I don't know how to go about instilling this without scaring her.
Does anyone have any thoughts? If you have talked about these things with your kids, how did you approach it and how did it go?
Also, there was a great self defense type course shown, where the kids learned to kick and scream and do anything they could to minimise the chance of being snatched; I wonder if anything similar exists here?
Thanks in advance

[PumpkinZulu]

I just watched that show too...and although it was good, it seemed pretty commonsensical to me. The self defense, screaming and kicking thing is to get the child on the ground and in a less physically vulnerable position...as the lady said, how hard is it to pick up a tantruming toddler and put them in the car? Dr Phils points were good in relation to fear; they don't need to be scared. Something as simple as, 'don't go with strangers, if you feel scared tell someone etc.' I'm sure there would be Dr Phils tips etc online. Was a good episode.

[Santosha]

There was a thread about this a while ago - here:

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...er-129175.html

I know the OP is about a younger child, but the strategy I gave (last post) is actually more appropriate / easier to understand for a 4 or 5 yr old so might be worth trying with your DD.