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When I was very young I was diagnosed as being 'Hyperactive', I believe the term ADHD had not yet been invented. Thankfully I was not pumped full of drugs, as is all too common these days when children are diagnosed with this condition. My parents had always made sure that I knew how to look after myself, without going too crazy. Did my Hyperactivity mean that I was more at risk? Of course not, just because I was a bit more boisterous doesn't mean I was stupid. I walked to school every day and managed to avoid every single bad person out there.

'Stranger danger' is, to me, a form of social paranoia. One of the most common paranoias is fear of the dark, which is really a fear of the unknown. An overactive imagination begins to fill that unknown with all sorts of nastiness which makes it rather frightening. The same can be said of people. When met with someone you don't know, you mind can race with all the potentially bad things that person could have done. When you have a child with ADHD or any similar condition (dyslexia is often misdiagnosed as ADHD), the fear of them meeting someone nasty can be made more intense by the assumption that their condition will make them more likely to put themselves at risk. However ADHD does not make children stupid, it does not make children more likely to talk with strangers and it does not make them more likely to put themselves at risk. By all means, inform your kids of how to behave in a responsible and safe manner when out in public and do everything within your power to keep them safe, but I wouldn't fill their heads with paranoia. There is nothing worse than raising kids to be fearful of people in general, and doing so will make the rest of their lives rather difficult.

My girlfriend suffers from 'stranger danger'. She can't walk home at night without calling me to talk her through the dark streets and lanes which lead to our house. I grew up in the area in which we live, so I know that there is nothing to be afraid of. Many of my friends say that shouldn't be so laid back when it comes to things like that, however I have a great deal of faith in humanity in general. To me it's a shame when people cannot trust each other due to an irrational fear, it makes life much less enjoyable when you're constantly looking over your shoulder. An example of this again comes from my girlfriend. One of my favorite things is to walk through the park at night. There is a large park near my house which tends to be in between my house and my friends' flats so I frequently walk through it late at night on my way home from visiting my friends. My girlfriend thinks this is a crazy thing to do, although I have convinced her on a few occasions to join me. The park at night is so peaceful and quiet, it's like an oasis in the center of the city. At night you can't hear the traffic and from the top of a hill you can see the city lights for miles. I really is rather nice. The first time I took my girlfriend through she nearly crushed my hand every time we walked through some trees, as she expected all sorts of evil people to be jumping out at us. To me this is silly. I know how to deal with people, and this is what kids should be taught. Don't teach kids to be afraid of anything, teach them how to deal with anything and then they will never need to be afraid.

ADHD is something which can make a parents life a little bit more taxing. It does not need to be something which makes them more fearful for their children. To pass on your own 'stranger danger' to you kids is to fill the rest of their lives with fear.

Learn more about this author, Angus Macdonald.
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