Stranger Danger

Where did that phrase come from? Was it McGruff the crime dog? Do you remember him? Anyway this entry was not meant to be light.....sorry!

A member of my mothers group sent out a post the other night about two strangers in the park. Our town has a very large community park. It has tennis courts, basketball courts, a baseball field, a skateboard park, a walking/running track and then an enclosed playground for kids. It is the place to be on a nice day (which we have been blessed with many this week) and many moms take their kids there to play.

This mom was there alone and had her two children with her. One is three and the other is 10 months old. The three year old was busy playing and the 10 month old was in the stroller. When she would go to help her three year old on the playground equipment, she noticed these two people sitting on a park bench (inside the playground area) staring at her. She would look over and they would quickly look away. She didn't think too much of it, just kept her two kids close by.

She then moved on to the skateboard park so her oldest could watch the skateboarders. The two strangers had followed her and were a little distance away but staring at her again. She would look over and they would look away. At this point, she realized that they did not have any children with them. She then wondered, why would a woman in her mid 30's and a 40 year old man be hanging out inside the enclosed playground area, without any kids???? She had an awful feeling (mothers instinct) and decided to get her kids out of there. She packed them in the car and watched these strangers for awhile as they stared at the park sign and would then look around suspiciously.

Now who knows? This might have been two people waiting for someone.......but it does seem really weird! This story was a great reminder for me to never let Z out of my sight. He is now pretty quick and very INDEPENDENT. He loves to do things himself and can take off in a second. I am lucky in that I still have only one to look after, those of you with more than one......you need to be even more careful. It is important for us to keep a close eye on our children because we live in a very scary world!!!! I think it is equally important to look out for strange things like this and let the local authorities know. You can never be too safe when it comes to our kids!