It’s a sad state of affairs, but gone are the days where we could let our children skip happily off to school without a second thought. This has been driven home this morning, by news shared by The Sun.
According to the publication, a warning has been sent out to parents in the South Dublin area, over a ‘young male’ who has been hanging around primary schools in the Rathgar area.
The report claims that the man – believed to be in his twenties – has been ‘approaching’ children.
The development has been treated extremely seriously by management at a primary school in Rathgar, with the principal reportedly warning children not to walk home alone.
The principal is also said to have sent out an email to parents of students in the school, saying: “An Garda Síochána contacted me today to advise that pupils attending all schools in Rathgar take sensible precautions travelling to and from school.
“This is in light of information received about reports of the alleged activities of a young male outside another school in the area.”
A statement from a Garda spokesperson added: “We advise all members of the public to report any concerns or crimes, or any suspicious activity to An Garda Síochána.”
Even if you don’t live in the area, it’s no harm to remind your children of ‘stranger danger’, and how to keep themselves safe while out and about this summer. Not to forget ‘tricky people’, either, which mum Jodie Norton previously took to social media to warn parents about.
‘Tricky people’ is the title that Jodie has given to the people who will try to play on a child’s good nature, in order to manipulate them and potentially cause them harm.
In Jodie’s case, she had a medical emergency and called on a friend to collect her young children from school. While her little boys were waiting on their neighbour, a woman approached the kids and asked them to go into a nearby bathroom, to ‘convince her boyfriend to come out’.
Thankfully, Jodie’s children were quick to say ‘no’, and the neighbour arrived shortly after to collect them.
Jodie’s eldest son, CJ, told her afterwards: “Mum, I knew they were tricky people, because they were asking us for help. Adults don’t ask kids for help.”
You can never be too safe, mums – perhaps now is a good time to brush up on safety precautions with your children.
