Scary

Something really scary happened a couple of weeks ago and the severity of what could have been never really dawned on me until now. We went to an RC Airplane field to watch some RC planes fly. I had to feed Ethan and it was hotter than heck outside so I sat in the truck with the AC on and fed him while Phil took Emma to watch the planes with his dad. Well there was a little boy there around Emma's age so of course they began to play together. They were playing in the field that was facing me but was behind Phil so really Phil could not see her playing with this boy. Behind the field was woods...so to get the picture right in your head, there is Phil with his back towards the truck, me facing the field and woods directly behind the field. Well I see Emma stop playing and she begins talking to this older gentleman about something (still with the little boy mind you) I see him motion his hand "this way" and the three of them begin to walk to the woods with the man in the lead. By now the man is already in the woods and I jump out of the truck yelling at Emma to come over here as she gets to the tree line. She yells back to me "I just have to go potty." I begin freaking out, and yelling at her, yelling at Phil trying to get his attention and trying to get Emma to OBEY for once in her life. By the way I am barefoot and feeding Ethan at this point so I turn back around and start off towards the woods, but thankfully she listened and walked back to me. She said "mommy I just had to go potty." I told Phil to take her into the woods and help her to go and he did. Later in the truck I spoke to her about never going ANYWHERE with people she did not know. She said she told that man she had to go potty and he told her she could go into the woods like him and go.

It's so scary how trusting and innocent children are. What would have happened if I hadn't seen that? Thank God I did, but to me it seems so suspicious that a grown strange man would offer to bring a little girl in the woods to go potty. How do you explain to a 4 year old why that's so wrong without explaining everything? I told her to NEVER, EVER go anywhere with anyone she did not know especially to go potty. And that people who seems nice sometimes aren't and they want to hurt little kids (I hated even telling her that...how can she understand that?). Then I had to tell her that sometimes people who seem nice sometimes aren't and that they may offer her candy or presents so that she will go with them and that this is not good, and she should never go with them. I just hope it sank in. I've told her not to go with strangers before but she is 4......she forgets not to touch things in the store how is she supposed to remember something as big as that (especially if offered a gift)?

At the time it was a big deal, and we went over everything but I wasn't that emotional about it. For some reason I thought of it again tonight and am so thankful that she stopped and listened even if it took alot of yelling and me acting like a crazy person. Perhaps he was just an old guy who said "oh you can just go in the woods" and Emma misunderstood, but to me it sounds very wrong and very perverted. I hate thinking the worst in people but when it comes to my babies you can never be to protective!