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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Op here, and this happened several months ago but I still think about it and wonder if it it was something innocent or something more sinister.  DH was with me and we both stepped in when they started walking away, and I asked him for a double check on my spidey sense, and he completely agreed with me, there was something off about the older boy.  And DH isn’t normally the overprotective type.

I followed and watched for a while. The weird thing was, as soon as they followed him to a new section, he’d try to lure them away again to another area. And the thing he wanted to show them was just a fountain.  The third time he got them to follow him, they actually went out of a cave/room area and were about to be completely out of sight.

And by his demeanor, I meant the way he acted, not his skin color. He was white, not that it matters.  He didn’t seem like he was on the spectrum or had any social impairment that I could see, but it did occur to me as a possibility.  I go out with my kids to playgrounds, parks, museums, etc all the time, and I never had a complete stranger who was significantly older try to befriend my younger kids. Same age range, yes. Neighborhood kids that we know, yes. But not complete strangers.

My 4yo is confused however, about who is safe to talk to and who is not.  In the past I told him it’s fine to play and talk to other kids and always ok when I am there. Of course I don’t want my kids to be afraid to talk to other children. Or to think that all strangers are dangerous.  But I also want to do what I can within reason to keep my kids safe.  But how? What’s the age when it becomes stranger danger?[/quote]

See, you have every right to not let your kids go off with an unknown older kid, but I really don’t understand why you handled it the way you did. If I didn’t want my kids interacting with the older kid, I’d have just stepped in and said “kids, time to check out the next room” or something so my kids can make a normal exit with no drama. Why followed them around and watch and let it go on, and then make an abrupt, aggressive exit? If the older kid is just a socially awkward kid that looks older, then you were a stranger adult following THAT kid around. [/quote]

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