what would you do?

[bubblebell1]

this afternoon after school i let my ds1 age 6 play on the green in our cul de sac. he was playing football and was wearing his chelsea shirt.

he played from 3.30 til 4.30 then came in for his tea and went out again at 4.45. after 5 mins he came running in and said that a man had walked past and put a football calender down on the floor and walked off up thru the alley. he bought in the calender and i promptly walked out to see if this man was still there. he wasnt but i said ds is to come in and explained about strangers again.

5 mins after ds had came in he walked up our street looking. he didnt stop at any houses and i dont recognise him.

do you think i am right to worry. all sorts of what ifs have gone thru my mind and i am quite upset about this. do you think im over reacting or should i call the police? dp is at work and i cant get hold of him.

I would call the local police station just to be on the safe side.

I would just keep an eye out and warn your ds to tell his friends to watch out too.

Could just be a harmless man who was too shy to give your ds the footie calendar. Not everyone has evil intentions but I understand your concern.

For now, do nothing but keep an eye out. If you see this man, approach him and tell him your ds brought in the footie calendar, just to make him aware that you know.

If you carry on seeing him hanging around then call the police.

It may be that he just had a spare calendar and thought your son may like it, its not like he tried to speak to him. I think the important thing is that your son knows not to assume he is a "nice" person because he has given him something, just keep your eyes open.

I would be worried. Why would he return to a cul-de-sac?

It is strange behaviour though, for an adult to leave a gift for a child, and not to speak to the child or to ask to talk to the child's parent.
At the very least, it is extremely naive of this man.
And why would he come back again if he had given it in this manner because he was shy?
I think it is worth a call to the police station, and perhaps have a word with the headteacher of the local school too?
I would also make sure all the neighbours are aware of what has happened.
Hopefully it is a kind person doing a good deed for a little boy who clearly loves football.
It is best to mention it to everyone though, just to be safe, and it is possible to do this without causing too much worry for everyone.