Editable Stranger Danger Social Story: Safe Grown-Ups

What is included

• •One illustrated social story about strangers, safe helpers, and checking first
• •A gentle wording that describes far more than it instructs, and a firmer direct wording
• •Four child looks: a boy or a girl, with light or dark skin
• •Half-page booklets in wide and tall pages, in US Letter and A4
• •Blank write-in booklets in US Letter and A4, for the stories only you can write
• •A guide with a printed link and QR code for each wording that opens your copy in the free Social Story Maker

What the stranger danger social story says

The gentle wording is eight pages long, one picture and one short sentence on each page, told in the child's own voice. The first two pages read:

The pages after that cover:

• checking first before going anywhere or taking anything
• why checking first is for everyone, even people the child knows
• the answer when someone asks the child to go with them
• losing sight of a grown-up in a busy place
• staying put and asking a safe helper: a worker with a name tag or a parent with kids
• safe helpers and grown-ups working together

The direct wording says the same things in seven pages, with the expectation stated plainly.

When to read a stranger danger social story

Read it at a calm time, before outings where a child could lose sight of you: a big store, a fair, a theme park, or the first day at a new school. Read it again in the car before you go in, and practice by pointing out safe helpers together, so the story is tied to real people your child can find.

How to read the stranger danger social story with your child

1. Start with the gentle wording; switch to the direct one if your child does best with a plain rule.
2. Print the child look that matches your child, and write their name on the cover.
3. Read one page at a time, pointing to the picture before you read the sentence.
4. Play "spot the safe helper" on outings: a worker with a name tag, or a parent with kids.
5. Role-play the check-first page with a familiar person, so your child practices checking with everyone.

Stranger danger social story questions

What is a stranger danger social story?

A stranger danger social story is a short illustrated story, in the approach developed by Carol Gray, about people a child does not know. This one teaches the safer modern model: most strangers are kind, a child checks first before going anywhere with anyone, and a lost child asks a safe helper.

Why not just teach "never talk to strangers"?

Most children who are abducted are taken by someone they know, so avoiding strangers alone does not protect them, NCMEC notes. Lost children are taught to ask a stranger for help, such as a store worker or a parent with kids. Checking first with a grown-up works with everyone, known or not.

Who are the safe helpers in the story?

KidSmartz suggests a lost child look for a uniformed police officer, a store worker with a name tag, or a parent with children. For young children, a mom or dad with kids is often the easiest to spot. The story shows a store worker and a parent with kids.

What is the difference between the gentle and the direct wording?

The gentle wording mostly describes what happens, with two coaching sentences. The direct wording states the rule plainly: I check first before I go anywhere with anyone. Both come in this stranger danger social story, so you can choose the one that fits your child best.

What formats and paper sizes are included?

One ZIP with print-ready PDFs in US Letter and A4: the story in four child looks, each in wide and tall booklet pages and in both wordings, plus blank write-in booklets and the guide. Print at actual size, cut each sheet in half along the dashed line, stack the pages in order and staple the left edge.

How do I receive the files, and can I use them with my whole class?

Delivery is instant: checkout unlocks the download and emails you the link, and the pack stays in your My Resources library. It is licensed for personal and single-classroom use. Because it is a digital download, all sales are final; if a file will not open, email info@spectrumunlocked.com and Spectrum Unlocked will fix it.