At some point in life, every kid hears "don't talk to strangers." We try to warn our outgoing, optimistic little ones that people we don't know can sometimes be dangerous, but even then it can be hard for them to resist being friendly and nice.
Every parent's technique for this is different, but there is absolutely no reason for someone to try to scare a child into believing the world can be a bad place. Unfortunately, they all grow up and eventually learn that one on their own, one way or another.
That's exactly why I was so disturbed and dumbfounded by the following story of how a Missouri family tackled the tricky subject. Their hearts might have been in the right place, but they should have known that this was a terrible idea from the start.
Denise Kroutil decided that her six-year-old nephew needed to learn a harsh lesson on stranger danger because he was “too nice.” Along with the boy’s mother, grandmother and 23-year-old male coworker Nathan Firoved, Kroutil organized a fake kidnapping.
Firoved lured the boy into his pickup truck when he got off the bus and told him he would “never see his mommy again.” For four hours, the boy was tortured in a basement. He was tied up, shown a gun, and told he was being “sold into sex slavery.”
Later that day, the boy’s family revealed the truth and he was lectured about “stranger danger.” The family felt they were educating him and had done the right thing, but this six-year-old will undoubtedly suffer from this traumatic experience.
Although their scheme might have worked on the boy, the harm they did will never be forgotten. Police charged the four with felony kidnapping and child abuse and they were being held in lieu of $250,000 bail, according to NBC News.
If you are as horrified as we were to hear about this heartbreaking story, please SHARE it so shine some light on the subject.
