The Safe Side: Stranger Safety

Ages: 4 years and up
Run Time: 42 minutes

As a child I can remember being completely and utterly scared of strangers. The reason for that is that my parents scared me to death and they had good reason. In 1975, I was only 6 years old. We lived in a good neighborhood but this was the year of the Oakland County child murders. Several children were being abducted and murdered all through the county including the neighborhood we lived in. My parents were terrified and in return scared the heck out of me when it came to strangers. They never did find the killer of these poor children. It gives me a sick feeling in my stomach when I think of those poor kids and how they died. I look back and I'm thankful for my parents and their great education on strangers.

A few weeks ago my husband and I stopped at McDonald's to get a bite to eat. We sat in the kids play area to eat and watch our 4 year old play with the other kids. As we were sitting there my little one decides to go up and talk to a complete stranger. We have been trying to explain stranger danger to her, but if you know children, then you know that they trust everyone in site. This scares and alarms me, all at the same time. I just can't imagine, nor do I want to, the terror of losing a child to a kidnapping or to any type of tragedy. It makes me sick to think about it. As my daughter is talking to this strange man, I approach her and explain that you just don't talk to strangers. We've had in depth discussions about the issue, but I just don't think she gets it. As I'm scolding my little one for talking to a strange man, a mother sitting behind me suggest this movie called Stranger Safety that she ordered from the website The Safe Side. The movie was created by Julie Clark and John Walsh. Julie Clark, who is also a parent and the founder of the Baby Einstein Company. John Walsh is the host of America's most wanted and a parent who turned his personal tragedy into a mission to fight back for victims everywhere, especially children. This fantastic movie has won an Emmy Award along with the video of the year award. So of course I ordered the movie. It was a small price to pay to help keep my child safe. It arrived in our mailbox Monday afternoon. My little one was so excited to watch the movie, as was I. Let me begin by saying, every parent should own this movie. It's a great way to educated and protect your most precious gem, your children. There is so much great content in this film. For starters it teaches what a stranger is and who is a safe adult. They also teach the children what to do if a stranger wants to hurt or abduct a child. No, this movie is not scary at all. The film is done in a humorous manner. My daughter has been watching this movie several times a day since Monday. She thinks it's totally funny. Though at the same time I've noticed she has learned several of the safety techniques from the film. She has been enjoying ever minute of the film. I would totally recommend buying this film to teach your children about the dangers that lurk out in our crazy world today. If you are a parent and think this just won't happen to you or your child, then you're wrong. This could happen to any parent or any child at any time. So, please educated you children as well as yourself. This could save your child's life one day. This film gets 5 stars in my book.