Better safe than sorry when it comes to ‘stranger danger’

PARENTS want to protect children from abuse, but are often uncomfortable having the necessary conversations.

“Parents worry about making the child anxious. They want them to keep their innocence,” says Aoife Griffin, a regional manager with ISPCC.

In talking about child safety, many of us don’t get beyond ‘don’t run across the road’ or ‘watch out for that big dog’. “We do practical safety well,” she says. This means children often don’t hear about other risks until they do the Stay Safe programme at primary school.