# When did the 'stranger danger' fear begin?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-stranger-danger-fear-begin/689165>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [May 24, 2014, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-stranger-danger-fear-begin/689165 "2014-05-24T07:07:20Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 66

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**Author:** ![Incubus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c68b51/32.png) [@Incubus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Incubus)\
**Post date:** [May 26, 2014, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-the-stranger-danger-fear-begin/689165/66 "2014-05-26T01:35:15Z")

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As for our own kids/grandkids/nephews/neices/etc, I think the best way to educate them to prevent bad things from happening is to teach them a lot of common sense situations. Children are much more likely to get molested (and kidnapped) by someone they know. The idea of a creepy guy driving around in a van offering kids candy is strongly ingrained in our heads, but realistically the most likely ‘risks’ come from the people that are closest to our children, not strangers.

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