Two new productions try to educate viewers so that bad things don't happen to good people. Stranger Danger, which is aimed at parents, reviews the basics of teaching your children to avoid potentially dangerous situations with strangers. Topics covered include doorbell rules, phone rules, and rules for public places. Combining interviews with a former police official and concerned parents, and sample scenarios to help children learn the importance of safety precautions, Stranger Danger stresses that parents not frighten their kids but rather establish simple ground rules that kids can follow. But there's nothing really new here that hasn't already been covered in earlier and less expensive titles such as HBO Video's How to Raise a Street-Smart Child.Unlike other productions which take the Ms. Rambo approach, emphasizing brain over brawn (such as Street Smart, Street Safe: Self Defense for Women [VL-5/93] and Shock, Scream and Run [VL-9/93]), Trust Your Instincts focuses on ways to avoid conflict. Following a short barrage of all too familiar and frightening crime statistics, this brief program uses quick and to the point vignettes and excellent tips to instruct viewers on how to handle themselves in a variety of situations, including jogging (if a person in a car is heckling you, run in the opposite direction; that way the car will have to turn around); driving (if someone jumps into your car, you should get out immediately), using stair wells (try not to), and making an answering machine message (don't use "I" if you happen to live alone). While the end of the program contains demonstrations of ways to physically disable an attacker, the main message of the program is to be mentally prepared. a portion of the proceeds from sales of the tape will be donated to battered women's shelters. Not as in-depth as the multi-volume Scenarios in Self-Defense (VL-9/92), this is an excellent and very affordable addition or alternative.Stranger Danger is recommended only for extensive or professional collections on parenting. Trust Your Instincts is highly recommended. (R. Pitman)
Stranger Danger; Trust Your Instincts
(1994) 25 min. $79.95. Cambridge Educational. PPR. Color cover. Vol. 9, Issue 6
Stranger Danger; Trust Your Instincts
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