Stranger Danger

I had a meeting the other night so the kids went with Uncle Brook to Brook Jr's baseball game. During the game Bud needed to go potty so Beaner took him across the park to a remote corner where the latrene was located.

While they were waiting their turn Beaner noticed a guy who was parked as close to the latrene as possible, but also as far away from the crowds as possible. His music was blaring, which is what got her attention in the first place.

When she looked over at the guy he motioned for her to come over to him. This kind of freaked Beaner out so she went on the other side of the latrene so she couldn't see him anymore.

When it was finally Bud's turn to use the restroom he went in and locked the door and Beaner went back behind the latrene to wait.

After Bud was done they hurried back to their group and told Bug and Lynn what had happened. I don't know if they thought she was just being dramatic, because Beaner is definitly our drama queen, but they didn't do any thing about it.

Awhile later Bud needed to go potty again so Beaner took him back over and the same man was still there. Once again he motioned for her to come to him. Freaked out this time she went inside the latrene with Bud.

When she got back to the group she pointed out the blue truck to Bug but still they didn't do anything about it. They never even told Uncle Brook. Beaner said she didn't want to bother him because he was helping with the game.

When she got home she told Big D and I. We let her now how serious the matter was and she needed to tell Uncle Brook immediatly. We also let her now how proud we were of her for not approaching the man and for staying so close to Bud.

That night Big D was freaked out about the whole situation and couldn't sleep. The next morning he told me that he wanted to reward Bud and Beaner for doing the right thing but also teach them what else they needed to do if it happened again. He also thought it important to go to the police and give a description of the guy and his truck so they can look out for him if he lingers around parks again.

I was a little nervous about going to the police because I didn't know how they were going to treat the matter. I know there really isn't anything they can do now so I didn't want them to treat Beaner like she was waisting their time and turn her off to ever wanting to go to the police again.

The officer was very respectful to Beaner and made her feel like she was doing an important thing by coming and giving them a report of what happened. He then told her that if she sees this guy at the park again to please call so an officer can come and talk to the man.

For the most part, what could have been a horrible experience for all of us, turned out to be very education for the whole family.

Last night we ended up doing a FHE on what we should and shouldn't do when approached by a stranger. All the kids got to take turns trying to get away from Big D as he tried to grab them.

First he had them run while he tried to catch them, they all did good and got away when they ran. Then he had them come close enough that he could grab them and they were given permission to do every thing in their power to get away: kick, bite, scream, punch, etc. None of them were sucessful.

My nephew, Brook Jr, was watching the kids as they took turns. He got a bit cauky and said he could get away so Big D gave him a turn. He got close enough and Big D grabbed him. He started kicking pretty hard so Big D reached down and wrapped around his legs. All of a sudden Brook Jr realized he couldn't move at all and started freaking out. His eyes started rolling in the back of his head and Big D let him go before he passed out.

I think it was a powerful FHE for everyone.