Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/danger-danger-everywhere!-helping-children-feel-safe-in-a-culture-of-fear/5019257/
Not long ago my husband Gary was standing outside the restrooms at a mall. A lone, crying little boy of about three appeared in the hallway. Gary bent down to ask him if he needed help. The boy started wailing, “I want my Mommy, my Mommy!” Just as Gary began reassuring the boy that they would find his mommy, the boy’s mother came running down the hall. She grabbed her son’s hand, yelling that she was getting the police. Before Gary could explain, the woman stomped off with her now-whimpering child. He felt thrown off balance and sad. Had the world become such a dangerous place that a man helping a frightened child find his mother was a thing of the past?A few months later, I attended an event at a ‘Travellers’ (often referred to as Gypsies) caravan community in Northern Ireland. A child about the same age as the child above was walking around anxiously calling, “Mommy, Mommy.” I bent down and offered to help him find his mommy. He tightly gripped one of my fingers as we went to a nearby community member to ask if she knew the boy’s mother. She said, “Yes, thanks. I’ll take ...