DS (10) approached by a stranger

[OrthodonticUrticaria]

Ds is 10. he's JUST told me tonight that the other day he was on the street with his friend when a woman walked up to them and asked if they would like to walk her dog for a fiver.
DS said "No thanks", didn't engage and walked off quickly.
And that was that.

But I'm wondering if I should call 101 and report it?
I've just emailed the other boy's mother, and in writing ti down it just seems more and more wrong.

The fact that she was walking, (ie no disability, so why not able to walk her own dog) the fact that she didn't have a dog with her - so were they meant to follow her to her house to collect the dog?

And the fact that we live in an age where I, for one, would hesitate before talking to an unaccompanied strange child, even if I thought they were upset or needed help because I wouldn't wan them to get the wrong impression, IYSWIM?

So how desperate does someone need to be to have their dog walked to ask a 10 and 8 year old?
Why wouldn't you ask neighbours or friends and and family if they knew someone who could help?

The more I htink of it, the more i think it's badly wrong, but as nothing actually HAPPENED, is it worth reporting?
Plus DS has had 100 questions fired at him and all I've managed to glean is that she was wearing trousers, was over 40 and probably smoked as she had lots of wrinkles.

I think I've already talked myself into making the call, but MNers, WWYD?

Sorry, doesn't sound strange to me at all. I think i must be strange too. I have asked kids i don't know if they want to wash my car for a fiver. I would assume if they said yes she'd pop back to get the dog. As long as your DS knows not to go anywhere with her i wouldn't worry.

Ah I don't like this. I'd normally be in the very robust camp of not taking offence and not getting worked up, but theres something about this not quite right. So I would say phone the police.

It somehow reminds me of an incident when I was a young child, where a man approached me and asked if I wanted to come and see [a cartoon character]. Fortunately I was a well drilled child and said no and went into my house, and then my parents phoned the police who asked me hundreds of questions.

And there is just something about this incident that reminds me of that. Perhaps its the unstated objective that the child would have to go somewhere with the adult to achieve the aim.

I wouldn't report it as there isn't anything to report.

I'm in two minds. It seems like almost nothing and there is so little you can tell the police but I was groped by a man while I was running last year. It was something and nothing and as it was dark I couldn't give the police a description. They were very understanding though and told me it was a sexual assault.

It turns out I was one of several women who had similar experiences. The police worked away at it for months and finally arrested someone who is currently awaiting trial for several offences. One of the reasons they were able to spend the resources on tracking this man down was because they had several incidents on record so it was potentially more serious than a one off.

Your piece of information might be very small but it may just be part of a bigger picture.

Yes, I would report it to my local safer neighbourhood team. You could just send them a quick email. Agree with pp that it may be nothing, or it could fit with other info the police already have.

Take it as an opportunity to congratulate ds on not going off with a stranger but please don't make him terrified of every adult that walks down the street.
I often say hello to children if they seem to be looking my way or help them if they fall, sometimes i forget that if dd isnt with me then it might look a bit weird but the truth is it's not weird. It's not weird to speak to a child and i know a few 11 year olds who walk dogs for pocket money. if she hasn't any children as relatives, she might have seen them outside her home and thought oh I'll ask them?

Who knows

You know, we have a 10 year old dd and have just moved. My dh kicked a ball back to a boy on our new street the other day and then got into the car waiting for me to lock up. The boy looked terrified and ran indoors. Dh was oblivious and I haven't had the heart to point it out to him.

We all have to make our children aware of dangerous people, but how do we strike a balance. Not all adult interaction is sinister

I suspect she may have just been a local oddball rather than someone out to steal children. Your son acted correctly and came and told you. You can pass the information onto the police if you wish. They will be unlikely to do anything but may be aware of this person and gathering information.

What frogwatcher said.

Your piece of information might be very small but it may just be part of a bigger picture.

this, in the end. So much policing is based on put together little bits of info from the public to build a picture.

I'd dither too OP. But on balance it's better to err on the side of caution when talking about child safety. I think the police would rather take your call, log the info, and that be the end of it for you.

If it was me i wouldn't tell my DC i'd reported it. He acted properly at the time, so is 'aware' enough. Wouldn't want to risk building it up into something big for him.