"Part of developing critical thinking is to put kids in situations, scenarios, that are safe to teach them and to help them have the skills to deal with challenging situations,” she said.
A total of seven children followed the undercover predator to his car, and child after child told HLN that the producer "looked like a nice guy." If he took care of animals, “How could he hurt a kid?” one of the girls rationalized. When asked what a “stranger” looked like, one of the boys simply answered, "Mean."
On hearing the children's responses, one of the mothers elaborated on the concept of a stranger and who they should look out for. “Everybody. You don’t know who somebody is. Just because they may be nice, that’s just something to lure you in. I have to protect you and you have to protect yourself. So next time, just ask me so I know where you are. I was scared.”
"They could be totally nice, but it’s a trick. They are nice 'til they are not," another mom explained.
The parents ran down the possibilities of what could have happened. The gravity of what he had done drove one boy into the arms of his mother.
“Kids are in the moment, and the word of a puppy is like a shiny object. They’re not really thinking with part of their mind … because critical judgment hasn’t developed yet. They’re instantly thinking, ‘Oh puppy.’ That’s why I’m glad you guys are doing this," Bailey said. "We do know that experiential learning helps people do things and learn things in a different way. So my guess is that any of these kids that went probably will never do that ever again.”
The other 13 children who walked away from our undercover producer had one reason why they didn’t go with him: "You never talk to strangers!"
Most of the children who refused to go back to the truck ran away or made a bee-line to their mothers. "My mom talked to me about strangers, and I wouldn’t want to disappoint her," one child said.
Click here to read more tips on keeping your kids safe. And be sure to watch our “Predator Test” special Friday at 12 p.m. ET on HLN.
We'll also be live tweeting with Parent Tested Parent Approved during the show. To join in, just include #RaisingAmerica in your tweets. Click here to follow the #RaisingAmerica hashtag. Let us know your take as you watch.
Ben Bamsey and Ed Parry contributed to this report.
http://www.hlntv.com/article/2013/07/31/predator-test-results