Top 5 Injuries Small Dogs Get When Exercised Too Hard
A veterinarian explains the five most likely injuries that a small dog can suffer when it’s exercised too hard.
Small dogs need exercise as much as large breeds do, but this doesn’t mean that little dogs are more invulnerable to exercise-related injuries just because they have short legs and are closer to the ground.
The five most common injuries that a small dog is likely to experience, from being over-exercised, are as follows, says Dr. Jules Benson, BVSc, chief veterinary officer with NationwideDVM, a pet insurer company.
Injury #1. Patellar luxation
Perhaps the most common orthopedic injury in small and toy breed dogs that is seen by pet insurance companies is the medial patellar luxation, says Dr. Benson.
The patella is the kneecap. A congenital structural abnormality can cause the kneecap to slide sideways out of its groove, continues Dr. Benson. This can cause lameness.
“While exercise doesn’t usually make the condition worse, it’s often more noticeable when pets exert themselves; affected pets may hold a hind leg up suddenly, hop for a few steps, then often go back to normal,” explains Dr. Benson.
If this injury situation goes untreated, it will get worse, causing arthritic changes and pain in the knee, which can then necessitate surgical repair.
Injury #2. Heat stroke
A little dog exercising in the hot sun needs lots of water. Heat stroke can be life-threatening.
“A dog’s normal temperature usually peaks at around 102.5oF, but when it rises to 105-110oF, this can lead to coma, organ dysfunction and even permanent brain damage or death,” explains Dr. Benson.
Watch out for subtle but suspicious signs: restlessness, incoordination or a drunken-like movement, excessive panting or drooling.
Injury #3. Lameness
Too much exercise can cause a small dog to lose its vigor and become listless.
“Sometimes, dogs can come up lame even when there’s no visible reason,” says Dr. Benson.
“Your veterinarian may recommend radiographs (x-rays) to ensure that no bones are broken and, if all looks normal, will likely recommend limiting your dog’s movement and perhaps a course of pain-relieving medication.”
Injury #4. Broken nails
It’s not uncommon for a small dog that’s exercised a lot to get broken nails, even on soft ground.
“The end of a broken nail often needs to be removed by a veterinarian, and the biggest risk after this comes from infection of the exposed soft tissue inside the nail,” explains Dr. Benson.
The little dog with the broken nail will often need to wear an Elizabethan collar to prevent it from chewing or licking the nail area, which will need to be kept clean.
Keeping nails trimmed can help prevent breaking, but if the problem recurs, there may be an underlying condition that a veterinarian can treat.
Injury #5. Lacerations/cuts
“If we ran around in our bare feet all the time, we’d likely wind up with some cuts on our feet – the same way our dogs do,” says Dr. Benson.
Particularly in colder weather, too much wear and tear on paws can lead to cuts, abrasions or irritation, continues Dr. Benson.
Dr. Benson is regularly consulted by many media outlets including ABC, NBC, FOX, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to provide pet health advice to pet parents nationwide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Sudden Weakness in Dog’s Back Legs: 4 Causes
A veterinarian explains four possible causes of sudden weakness in your dog’s back legs, and what you must do.
When your dog’s hind legs suddenly go weak, there could be any number of causes, says veterinarian Dr. Jules Benson, BVSc, chief veterinary officer with NationwideDVM, a pet insurer company.
“Sudden hind limb weakness or paralysis can be a clinical sign of several conditions, including degenerative myelopathy, in which parts of the nerves in the spinal cord responsible for hind limb mobility degenerate,” begins Dr. Benson.
Another possible cause of sudden back leg weakness in a dog is intervertebral disc disease, says Dr. Benson.
He explains that this occurs when bulging discs put pressure on the dog’s spinal column.
Next is vertebral instability (“wobbler syndrome”), in which “the spinal canal narrows, placing pressure on the nerves affecting hind limb motor function,” says Dr. Benson.
An infection with the bacteria that causes botulism can also cause a dog’s hind legs to suddenly go weak, though this is rare, says Dr. Benson.
Accompanying symptoms of this would be excessive drooling, slack jaw and dilated pupils.
Treatments
Degenerative Myelopathy
While physical therapy and vitamin therapies can help maintain a better quality of life, Dr. Benson says unfortunately there’s no treatment or cure for the condition.
Intervertebral Disc Disease and Vertebral Instability
The faster these cases are caught and treated, the better the prognosis, says Dr. Benson.
He adds, “Mild cases of IVDD will respond well to anti-inflammatories and muscle relaxers, while more severe cases will require surgery to allow the affected pet to return to normal function.
Botulism
Pets are treated with an anti-toxin and supportive therapy, including IV fluids.
Paralysis or extreme weakness in your dog’s back legs for more than 24 hours?
Dr. Benson says the prognosis here is poor. With wobbler syndrome, surgery is usually needed, in addition to anti-inflammatory drugs.
A pet insurance plan may pay over $8,000 for a required advanced imaging (MRI) and surgery, according to Dr. Benson.
Other Possible Causes of Sudden (Acute) Hind Limb Weakness in a Dog
©Lorra Garrick
Dr. Benson explains that hip and knee problems, such as cruciate ligament injury and hip dysplasia, can present with what appears to be sudden-onset weakness in a dog’s back legs.
You must contact your veterinarian immediately if you notice this kind of symptom.
Dr. Benson is regularly consulted by many media outlets including ABC, NBC, FOX, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to provide pet health advice to pet parents nationwide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Dreamstime.com Waldemar Dabrowski
Is a Fish-Based Diet Healthy for Dogs?
Read what a veterinarian has to say about feeding a dog a fish-based diet.
Like many devoted dog owners, you may be wondering if a fish-based diet is a good idea or healthy for your beloved furry pet.
Here is what a veterinarian has to say about a fish-based diet for dogs:
“As long as your dog isn’t allergic to fish, then offering a well-balanced diet based on fish can be fine,” says Dr. Jules Benson, BVSc, chief veterinary officer with NationwideDVM, a pet insurer company.
What kind of fish is the best choice?
When it comes to choosing which fish, exactly, to offer, Dr. Benson has some suggestions:
“Salmon, albacore tuna, sardines and other oily fishes are ideal, as they have high levels of healthy omega-3 and omega-6 acids,” he says.
This means that if you stop by your local fishmonger to pick up some fresh salmon for your family, why not also pick up some extra filets for your dog?
But before you do so, Dr. Benson advises that anyone wishing to add fresh fishes to their four-legged family member’s diet should discuss this with their veterinarian before “diving in” – literally!
“Look for wild and freshly caught fish, rather than farm-raised, when possible,” says Dr. Benson.
Wild-caught fish are generally considered better than farm-raised due to their natural diet and environment, which often result in leaner meat and higher omega-3 levels.
They’re also less likely to contain antibiotics, artificial feed or contaminants common in some aquaculture systems.
Additionally, wild fish typically have a lower risk of disease and may offer superior flavor — even though, that last point may not make a difference to your dog, being that dogs love any kind of fish!
If you are currently not buying wild-caught salmon due to its price, then you can feed your dog albacore tuna (water-packed in a can), fresh sardines or cod.
While fish might seem like an expensive entrée for a pet, serving it properly could actually help improve the health of some dogs.
“Fish-protein based diets are often used for pets that have allergies to one of the main three proteins (chicken, pork or beef),” says Dr. Benson.
With your veterinarian’s approval, you can feel good about feeding your dog a fish-based regimen.
Dr. Benson is regularly consulted by many media outlets including ABC, NBC, FOX, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to provide pet health advice to pet parents nationwide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Daily Calcium Requirements for Dogs
How much calcium does your dog need every day?
Daily Calcium Needs for Dogs
“There are two important elements to consider: the amount of calcium and its proportion to the amount of phosphorus in your dog’s diet,” says Dr. Jules Benson, BVSc, chief veterinary officer with NationwideDVM, a pet insurer company.
He further explains that young dogs need almost twice as much of the mineral calcium as do fully grown dogs.
This means “at least 1% dry matter in young dogs versus at least 0.5% in grown dogs,” says Dr. Benson.
Phosphorous is also a mineral. Dr. Benson points out that the opinions differ among veterinarians, but the generally recommended ratio, he says, is generally 1.2 parts calcium to 1 part phosphorous (a ratio of 1.2:1).
Calcium in Commercial Dog Food
“The good news is that nutritionally balanced commercial dog foods are prepared for different life-stages, and already have the proper amount of calcium included,” notes Dr. Benson.
Your dog, then, should be getting enough calcium in his daily diet if you’re feeding him the proper portion size.
Calcium Deficiency and Surplus: Possible Fallouts
If your pet doesn’t get adequate amounts of this vital mineral, problems could result. However, too much of this mineral can also result in health ailments.
Dr. Benson explains, “A diet that is deficient in calcium can lead to weakened teeth and bones, while too much calcium can lead to a wide range of health concerns, from constipation and kidney disease to increased risk of skeletal problems such as hip dysplasia.”
Though hip dysplasia is more prevalent in certain breeds, such as the German Shepherd, this doesn’t mean that diet can’t play a role in its development.
And of course, constipation is no picnic, and doesn’t always mean that lack of fiber is the culprit.
This is why it’s important to be very tuned-in to what your pet is eating.
Dr. Benson urges people to always discuss their pet’s diet (including “treats”) and any vitamin supplementation with a veterinarian to make sure that their dog is getting proper nutrition all-around, including the right amount of calcium, in their daily menu.
Dr. Benson is regularly consulted by many media outlets including ABC, NBC, FOX, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times to provide pet health advice to pet parents nationwide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: ©Lorra Garrick
How to Warn Girls of the Teen Model Lure by Strangers
Your teenaged daughter may be too old to fall for the lost puppy ruse, sick mommy ruse and offers-of-candy ruse by a pedophile.
But this doesn’t mean she’s out of the woods as far as being a potential target for a sex offender.
The “I’m a modeling scout for an agency” is a well-known ruse by sex offenders looking for teen victims. Weylin Rodriguez* was such a predator, posing as a modeling scout, even using fake business cards.
Though the modeling agency lure is becoming increasingly frequent in online social media, it still takes place person to person. Shota Mgeladze** posed as a modeling scout and convinced a teen girl to actually get into his car.
What can parents say to their teens so that their kids simply will not fall for the modeling scout ruse?
“Parents need to explain to teens that the offers they receive — luxury travel, exotic islands, free clothes, all kinds of money, fame and fortune are all too good to be true,” says Robert Siciliano, CEO of Safr.Me.com and an expert in fraud prevention and personal safety.
“Remind them that these offers are no more real than the Easter bunny or Santa Claus.”
Make sure your teenager knows the following tell-tale signs that the “modeling scout” or the “rep from a modeling agency” is actually a predator:
#1. The chance meeting with him is odd or suspicious. In the case of Rodriguez, he’d pretend to accidentally drop his business card near an attractive teen girl, banking that she’d politely retrieve it and notice the modeling agency information on it. He’d then tell her, “Oh, just keep it…” and the ruse would be well underway.
#2. The man has no business card.
#3. The man just happens to come along in his car and asks the teenager to get in, after promising her the world, or even just a simple modeling shoot.
#4. The man makes no mention of first meeting the teen’s parents before arranging any modeling shoots, and instead, right away wants to take her to his studio.
#5. Tell your daughter that the predator may be accompanied by a woman, who’s part of the ruse, and that just because the “scouts” include a female, doesn’t mean they can’t be predators.
If your teenager wants to be a model, tell her you’ll support her dream by going through the proper channels, and that means off-the-street “modeling scouts” are off-limits.
Robert Siciliano is a private investigator fiercely committed to informing, educating and empowering people to protect themselves and their loved-ones from violence and crime — both in their physical and virtual interactions.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Sources:
* dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1390861/Sex-offender-posed-modelling-agent-lure-girls-seedy-world-prostitution-beatings.html
**http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2011/12/06/police-la-predator-posing-as-modeling-scout-may-have-more-victims/
IDTheftSecurity.com
Why Women Take Rides from Strangers: Poor Impulse Control
Find out why a personal safety expert believes a full grown woman would accept a ride from a stranger in perfect weather.
It keeps happening: Woman accepting rides from strangers even though the weather is beautiful, her destination isn’t too far off, and she’s not in pain or injured.
I’ll be honest: I’m nothing short of alarmed, and maddened, that so many women continue accepting rides from strangers even though:
1) Over the past decade there’s been an explosion of media attention on the dangers of this practice, including women found murdered by the stranger-man whose car she had voluntarily gotten into, and 2) These women had a perfectly good pair of legs to get them to their destination.
Why do grown women voluntarily get into cars with strangers?
I asked this to Robert Siciliano, CEO of Safr.Me.com and an expert in fraud prevention and personal safety.
When I say “stranger,” I mean a driver who pulls up alongside the pedestrian woman — a man she’s never seen before, as well as someone she “just met” at a bar.
“There is a certain rebellious thrill that is achieved by getting into a stranger’s vehicle,” says Siciliano. “There is also the ‘It can’t happen to me’ syndrome that some have.”
This points to lack of impulse control. Though this doesn’t apply to EVERY woman who accepts a ride from a stranger, it seems to explain it for some of them. Natalee Holloway comes to mind!
A transcript excerpt from the Dec. 24, 2010 airing of “Nancy Grace” reads:
Police say some of her classmates asked her to leave with them [from the bar], but she chose to get in a car with three young men, all locals.
What?!
What could possibly compel a grown woman (Holloway was 18) to get into a car with not one, but three strangers?
“All locals” means yes, they were very much strangers — even if she had chatted a little with them at the bar beforehand. And three of them!
“I’ve encountered many young woman over the years who have done this,” says Siciliano, referring to women taking rides from strangers, and “with the majority nothing happens. Some are victimized and others engaged in consensual sex.”
Yes, the majority live to tell about it. But it’s Russian roulette. What percent of women, who get into a stranger’s car, survive the experience without being victimized? This percentage is not known.
However, here’s the thing:
Getting into a car with a stranger is an extremely elective process, even if it’s raining.
By the time the stranger offers a woman a ride who’s walking in the rain, she’s probably as wet as she’ll get.
The vast majority of woman who are offered rides by strangers are not limping or bleeding profusely, nor is the temperature 17 degrees or 105 degrees.
It takes absolutely NOTHING to avoid being in that percentage of women who end up murdered by the driver. Simply keep on walking!
Tell the driver you’d rather walk, and make your announcement with authority. How hard is that? If you can’t speak with authority, then keep walking anyways!
Some women in these circumstances, says Siciliano, have the same mindset as a risk-taking young man:
“This is no different than an 18 year old boy getting in a car or on a motorcycle and doing 120 miles per hour. I’ve done it.”
Rational thought is when the woman pedestrian, upon being approached by that car with a nice-looking fellow inside offering her a ride, wonders if sitting in a stranger’s car could really be more comfortable than a planned (or even unplanned) walk.
After all, what if the guy’s car is a mess and stinks?
What if he has foul breath or awful body odor? What if he has so much cologne on it will gag her once inside the vehicle?
She can’t tell any of that from outside the car. What if he expects her to be a dazzling conversationalist or keeps talking about his grandmother’s hemorrhoid surgery or won’t stop telling racist jokes? Or … what if he wants to rape her?
Doggone it, don’t these things course through a woman’s mind upon being offered a ride by a stranger?
“Emotion and impulse often fly in the face of rational thought,” says Siciliano. “We know something is bad, or not good for us, but we do it anyway. Maybe we think the consequences aren’t all that detrimental or we think ‘It can’t happen to us.’ We generally have plenty of information to make well-informed decisions, but sometimes impulse gets the best of us.”
The prospect of the bad breath alone should be enough to motivate a woman to say NO THANK YOU to a stranger offering a ride.
Robert Siciliano is a private investigator fiercely committed to informing, educating and empowering people to protect themselves and their loved-ones from violence and crime — both in their physical and virtual interactions.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Source: robertsiciliano.com
Top image: ©Freepik/gpointstudio
How Dad Can Teach Daughter to Refuse Rides from Strangers
Hey dads, have you been teaching your young daughter how to refuse a ride from a stranger?
If so, you’re probably missing some very crucial ways to ingrain the message.
There are predators out there, and you’re a key player in whether or not your daughter gets reeled into getting inside a car with a complete stranger.
Women and teen girls who do this aren’t “stupid” in the academic sense.
An airing of “Mystery Detectives” focused on a 17-year-old who was an excellent student with dreams of becoming a doctor.
She was walking home, less than one-quarter mile away, when a stranger pulled up, offered her a ride and she accepted!
This man (age 24) wasn’t a complete stranger (he was living with her cousin), but she hardly knew him. So essentially, he was stranger material.
Teens Getting into Cars with Strangers: Why?!
Freepik.com, senivpetro
“Whatever the bait that the stranger promises — a puppy, candy or simply a ride, the real reason teens and young women take the bait is deeper,” begins Carole Lieberman, MD, forensic psychiatrist and author of Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How to Live With Them and When to Leave Them.
Dad. Or lack thereof.
“The real bait is the promise of a surrogate daddy’s love,” says Dr. Lieberman.
“The driver is offering ‘the kindness of strangers’ — a man who is going out of his way to pay attention to and help the girl.”
Before you question this explanation, ask yourself how many young women you think would take a ride being offered by another young woman (complete stranger), or how many middle-aged women would accept a ride from a 25-year-old man.
You’d think that today’s proliferation of frightening headlines, says Dr. Lieberman, would scare off young women and teen girls from accepting rides with strangers or men they just met.
But, she continues, “At the same time the number of girls who are longing for male attention has skyrocketed because of losing daddies to divorce, depression and other problems.
“This makes girls more vulnerable than ever to a man who, despite his malevolent intentions, appears to care about them.”
What percentage of young women and teenage girls, who accept a ride from a stranger (and this includes a “nice” man they just met at a bar or party), grew up in a home without a father?
This data is not available. But a surprising number of females who simply get into a stranger’s car have had no strong father figure in their life, says Dr. Lieberman, based upon her years of professional experience in the legal system.
The absent father isn’t the only explanation, though. It’s a multifactorial process.
After all, there are girls, raised by strong single mothers, never knowing their fathers or having little contact with them, who couldn’t be paid a thousand bucks to get into a stranger’s car in even frigid cold weather.
What can fathers do to ensure their daughters will never get into a car with a stranger?
This article pertains strictly to those who voluntarily get into the vehicle, versus those who are frightened in by the sight of a wavering gun.
The first and most important relationship a girl will ever have, says Dr. Lieberman, is that with her father.
Even if dad is physically present, married to the girl’s mother, this alone doesn’t guarantee a strong positive presence; he can still be emotionally distant and neglectful, or harsh and denigrating.
“The way you relate to your daughter will determine how she views men for the rest of her life — from whom she picks to date to whom she’ll marry to whether she will fall victim to a stranger,” explains Dr. Lieberman.
“If you don’t make her feel like she’s a lovable princess from day one, she will wind up dating bad boys, giving up on finding her prince and ending up in a loveless marriage.
“That is, if she hasn’t been raped and killed by a sweet-talking stranger beforehand.”
You Don’t Have to Spoil Her
Hey dads, don’t make the mistake of assuming that making your daughter feel like a valuable princess will set her up for being spoiled rotten.
Nobody says you must buy her everything she points her finger at or hand her your credit card every time she blinks.
When fathers make their daughters feel important and valued, and make time for them and have a relationship that’s real rather than based on just material provisions, this will go a long way in protecting your daughter from voluntarily accepting a ride from a stranger.
Dr. Lieberman analyzes the psychological impact of world events, as a guest and/or host on all major media outlets. Her appearances include “Larry King Live,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Entertainment Tonight,” CNN and Fox News.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik
How to Role Play with Children to Teach Stranger Safety
Here’s fantastic advice on how to role play with your kids so they can be as resistant to abduction lures as possible.
The dangers of strangers come in all forms, and this article will explain how to use role playing to instill a powerful resistance in your children against the abduction tricks that predators use.
Keeping your kids safe requires a lot more than telling them like a broken record, “Don’t talk to strangers.”
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children studied 7,000 attempted abductions that occurred between Feb. 2005 and Jan. 2012. Some results:
– 32 percent of the kids were lured by the offer of a ride.
– 12 percent were lured by sweet treats.
– 8 percent were asked a question by the alleged predator.
– 8 percent were offered money.
– 8 percent of the alleged predators asked for help with a lost puppy or cat.
I use the word “alleged” because the adults did not succeed in (and thus were not convicted of) these particular attempts.
However, ask yourself why an adult would need a child’s help in finding his lost puppy, and why an adult would just go up to a stranger-child and offer candy. Hmmm.
“Role playing is an excellent way to teach children the importance of stranger safety, and how to protect themselves, and how to react when situations make them uncomfortable” says Dr. Marilyn Benoit, Chief Clinical Officer and SVP of Clinical & Professional Affairs of Devereux. Devereux is one of the largest not-for-profit behavioral healthcare organizations in the U.S., helping children and adults with emotional, developmental, educational and cognitive disabilities since 1912. She is a child/adolescent/adult psychiatrist.
However, not all situations that morph into an abduction initially make a victim feel uncomfortable. A lure is what reels them in; the key is to teach kids to recognize when they’re being set up.
In addition to the above abduction ruses, here are more:
Posing as a talent scout
Posing as a new teacher
Offering money to help lift something out of a van
Claiming he knows the child’s parent
Claiming the parent is in the hospital and he’ll drive the child there
Asking “help” for other things (directions, lost child) that adults should not ask children for.
Run through all of these ruses with your kids. There are only so many ruses, though they can have derivatives (informed-older kids will easily spot these, such as a full-grown man offering a 12-year-old money to help him change a flat tire).
“Role playing activities need to be repeated,” says Dr. Benoit. “You can role play with your children simply by first explaining the concept of strangers, and give them directions on how to resist and protect themselves.”
Select one of the ruses, then have your child pretend you’re the stranger, says Dr. Benoit.
See what kind of script unfolds, based on the premise that 1) you will be persistent in your pretend-role, and 2) your child will never accept. Give your child permission to “yell” at you in your make-believe role.
Use props, such as a bag of candy and a photo of a puppy. Take the role playing outdoors.
Practice various permutations: your child on a bike, you in a car; your child on foot, you on a bike or in a car, etc.
Role play in the rain, cold and extreme heat so that your child builds up the resistance to lures of a heated or air-conditioned car or of getting out of the rain.
All of this role playing will imprint upon a child’s brain, making the resistance to the lures of abduction attempts increasingly reflexive and increasingly impenetrable.
Rehearse over and over so that it becomes second-nature for a child with tired legs in the heat to run in the opposite direction when a stranger offers a ride in his air-conditioned car.
“Play through different scenarios,” urges Dr. Benoit. Ask your child to come up with some of these different scenarios. This will get the brain cells firing.
“It may be useful to have the child pretend that he or she is the stranger,” adds Dr. Benoit.
This will really get the brain cells exercising — and proliferating as new insights are formed.
“Role playing is a great opportunity for children to learn and develop skills,” says Dr. Benoit.
Never assume your kids are too young to benefit from learning how to recognize an abduction attempt or the common ruses.
Do not put this project off, and once you start, keep it ongoing, especially since lures for older kids are different than lure tactics for younger kids.
Dr. Benoit is past president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has provided Congressional testimony on issues including child abuse, teen pregnancy and youth suicide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Shutterstock/ New Africa
Source: missingkids.com/home
Projects for Kids that Teach Stranger Safety & Awareness
Here are very clever projects that will help kids understand what a stranger really is & how to sense danger and have more awareness for safety.
Perhaps you’ve warned your children, “Don’t talk to strangers!” till you were blue in the face, but have you ever checked to see if your child actually knows what a stranger is?
Many parents focus only on convincing their kids to “avoid” or “stay away from” strangers without helping their kids understand just what “stranger” means.
To the parent, the concept of what a stranger is may seem incredibly simple. But the younger a child, the more abstract this concept is. Ask your child what they think a “stranger” is.
They might reply, “Someone I don’t know.” But many others will reply in a way that shows they don’t understand.
I once asked a child to tell me what a stranger is. She replied, “You don’t talk to strangers.”
I then said, “That’s what you’re not supposed to do. But can you tell me what a stranger IS.” She really couldn’t.
Knowing what you shouldn’t do is worthless if you don’t know to whom this rule should apply.
“We need to help children understand what we mean when we use the word strangers, and help them, through reinforcement and repetition, understand the nuances in regard to the topic of strangers,” explains child/adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Marilyn Benoit, Chief Clinical Officer and SVP of Clinical & Professional Affairs of Devereux. Devereux is one of the largest not-for-profit behavioral healthcare organizations in the U.S., helping children and adults with emotional, developmental, educational and cognitive disabilities since 1912.
Ask child to write down 10 traits of a stranger (five if the child is very young). What they write will be very telling of their concept of strangerhood.
For example, if they write down “He has a weapon,” or, “He has tattoos,” you have some talking to do.
Ask questions like, “Can a stranger be handsome?” “Can a stranger be well-dressed”? Then discuss.
The most compelling project, though, is having your child DRAW what they think a stranger looks like. Supply crayons in many colors.
Many years ago I became aware of a study in which young kids were asked to draw a stranger. I was not able to locate this study online, but the results were disturbing.
Without having been given any prompts, the kids drew pictures of ugly faces, some looking almost monster-like. Lack of drawing skills had nothing to do with it.
They used mostly black, brown and grey crayons. None of the facial expressions looked friendly; some were mean. Hair was wild in some.
This study showed that children equated strangers with ugliness, nasty expressions and dark, dreary colors.
When you have your child make a drawing, do not give any suggestions. Just say, “Draw a stranger.”
Have them do this BEFORE you ask them to write down what they think a stranger looks or acts like.
Then, without discussing the drawings, have them do the writing drills. THEN discuss everything.
Next Project
Dr. Benoit strongly recommends role playing. “Repetition is key. It would be nice to see this performed in classrooms as well. The group setting really facilitates the learning.”
Dr. Benoit urges parents to work together, “to participate in discussions and role playing activities with children. With groups of parents and children, there may be great opportunities for parents to use settings and hypotheticals to contextualize for children and explain differences between sociability and trust.”
Finally, make sure your child knows the difference between approaching a stranger if they need help, and a stranger approaching them asking for help or offering goodies or a ride. Big difference!
Dr. Benoit is past president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and has provided Congressional testimony on issues including child abuse, teen pregnancy and youth suicide.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Freepik.com, jcomp
Are Preschoolers too Young to Learn Stranger Danger?
Preschoolers are actually NOT too young to learn some concepts about stranger danger.
A child psychiatrist explains how parents can go about teaching their very young ones about basic safety.
The preschool age is usually considered to be three to four; or, to put another way, preschoolers are older than toddlers but younger than kindergarteners, but are they old enough to be taught stranger danger?
“I think the best strategy is constant supervision by an adult,” says child/adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Marilyn Benoit, Chief Clinical Officer and SVP of Clinical & Professional Affairs of Devereux.
Devereux is one of the largest not-for-profit behavioral healthcare organizations in the U.S., helping children and adults with emotional, developmental, educational and cognitive disabilities since 1912.
“I say constant supervision because I cannot tell you how many times I see parents on their cellphones with their little ones in tow.
“Yes, the parent is with the child, but they’re not focused on their child.”
Parents may wonder how to teach the so-called stranger danger to preschool-aged children, but when you think about this, why would you have to teach stranger danger unless you were planning on letting your preschooler go off somewhere unsupervised?
On the other hand, there ARE circumstances in which a preschooler is not being watched like a hawk, and I don’t necessarily mean because they’re with parents who aren’t keeping a good eye on them. I’ll get to that in just a moment.
But before I do, here’s what else Dr. Benoit says: “When I see a child following behind a parent, it upsets me.
I also see parents sometimes walking with their children on the sidewalk, and the child is on the outside, closest to the road.
“So, when we talk about parental supervision, we should emphasize that parents should be focused on the children and using good safety.”
Now back to those situations in which the parent can’t always be physically present, and as a result, the preschooler is not being watched like a hawk…
…For instance, at a daycare facility, where there might be two adults and 10 preschoolers, maybe more. What if the adults take them out in public?
Children ages three and four should be taught some degree of stranger danger, because there’s always that chance (though very slim), that at a park, one will wander just a little too far away from the daycare attendants or nanny, and end up within the visual field of a predator. The lure could be just too easy to pull off.
Another situation where a preschooler might end up lured by a predator is right outside their house while playing.
In fact, in Sept. of 2012, a predator tried to snatch a four-year-old as he played outside his seven-year-old cousin’s home.
The cousin, A-nari Taylor, kicked and karate chopped at the man and he fled.
It can be daunting to a parent faced with figuring out how to prevent their preschooler from going off with a stranger who offers candy, offers to show some puppies or says “Mommy is sick and she sent me to get you.”
In the meantime, take Dr. Benoit’s advice: Stay focused on your preschooler when in a public place like the mall; the texting can wait.
