A group of St Peter’s College students tried to lure two younger children into their "van" with candy at a Gore public playground, the kids’ alarmed mum said.
The apparent social media prank-gone-wrong has reminded the mother, school, authorities, and other concerned parents in Gore that stranger danger is no joke.
Rikkilee Tuffley said it was quite scary when her two children, aged 9 and 7, told her strangers had approached them after school last Monday.
She said it was lucky her eldest was quite smart about it and knew it was not a good idea to go with the teens, because her youngest was keen for the free lollies.
She understood children and teenagers could be inappropriate with their humour at times, but as a parent, she was not going to take any chances.
"Maybe it was potentially nothing sinister, but also being a parent, you've got to go, worst case, this is not acceptable," she said.
Ms Tuffley has seen videos circulating online where parents ask their kids what they would do if approached by a stranger, offering candy or puppies in their van.
The children’s responses are often quite funny, she said, but she still took it seriously when the scenario played out with her own children.
She was told the St Peter’s students had their phones out and were videoing the interaction, which may have been feeding into the viral trend.
She had alerted police and the school.
St Peter’s principal Kieran Udy told The Ensign the students’ behaviour fell well short of the school’s values and expectations.
He said they did not support the behaviour and they were trying to identify who was involved in the incident.
While likely a joke, in no way was the behaviour or supposed humour acceptable, he said.
The school will be addressing the incident with the wider student body, reminding them to keep themselves and others safe, and how to behave in public.
When contacted, a police representative said the incident had been filed, but was not deemed suspicious.
Ms Tuffley said if anything, she was probably a little overprotective with her children.
She said things had changed a lot, with phones and the internet, and she was now more vigilant than ever.
"You can never be too prepared," she said.
"It's definitely important for your kids to be aware of stranger danger."
