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This is a surprisingly controversial subject and one where a consensus amongst experts can be difficult to obtain.

While most parents would naturally incline towards caution and advocate such teaching, a balance may need to be struck in the typical Early Learning Centre.

The Balcatta Early Learning Centre and ‘Strangers’

The word ‘stranger’ in English goes back to the 14th century when it was “straunger”.

It comes from the old French “Estrangier” meaning “foreigner” and even the modern French equivalent, the word “étranger”, means both “foreigner” and “stranger”, whereas English differentiates between the two concepts.

Whatever the origin, in early societies unknown people may have moderately often constituted danger of one form or another. As a result, the word “stranger” today still carries a sense of the need for caution, which oddly isn’t necessarily also the case in English with the word “foreigner”.

This can indeed be something of a considerable challenge for parents everywhere. Virtually nobody wishes for their child to be raised in an environment characterized by a culture of fear and suspicion, yet those ancient instincts that have been ingrained in us over generations are still very much present in our lives today. Common sense, along with our personal life experiences, may lead us to conclude that a degree of caution is advisable when interacting with individuals we do not know well.

Consequently, we often find ourselves passing on those cautious attitudes and behaviors to our children—frequently without even realizing we are doing so. This unintentional transmission can create a cycle where the very instincts we seek to mitigate are perpetuated in the next generation.

The facts

It’s a sobering fact that in Australia, only about 11% of crimes against children are committed by strangers. Roughly 85% are committed by family members, close friends or casual friends/acquaintances.

Some use this terrifying statistic to argue that teaching children to be suspicious or cautious with strangers is focusing on the wrong issue. Yet clearly, for that 11%, strangers were a real and direct threat. Therefore, parents and a typical Balcatta Early Learning Centre alike cannot entirely disregard the issues associated with strangers when teaching children about aspects of life.

Conflicting imperatives

An Early Learning Centre will be keen to help younger children to learn and explore through that learning, about the wider world around them. Parents and such providers need to be careful to avoid conveying to children that the world is a dark and frightening place full of dangers. It is important to keep perspective.

Parental views in this area are paramount and their values must be reflected by the stance adopted by Early Learning Centres when this subject arises – which it might easily do.

Typically, parental values here may vary considerably based on their own opinions and the age of their child. In general, most parents wish their younger children to understand that:

• most strangers are harmless but that caution is always necessary;
• they should never accept lifts, presents or sweeties from strangers, nor ever go off with them without their parents’ advance permission;
• no stranger will ever have a message from their parents saying that they should go off with the stranger concerned;
• should a stranger approach them for whatever reason, they should immediately report such to their parents or the Early Learning Centre’s personnel (though virtually all Early Learning Centres will have very strict access controls which will not permit unknown or unauthorised people to enter their premises or grounds).

In summary, it is probably necessary to give children some understanding of the need for considerable caution where strangers are concerned and that only their parents or Early Learning Centre staff can make someone ‘not a stranger’ through an appropriate introduction.