So the other evening a friend was with my son and I as we were going to pick up food from a local Mexican place. A homeless person asked us for money as we were about to enter and I told him I didn't have any but I'd buy him some food. I've been doing this for years. Not as a consistent thing, mind you, but now and then when I can afford it and a homeless person (or runaway kid) looks hungry and asks me for money I'll offer to get them food because I make it a policy to never ever give out money.
Anyway this guy looked pretty skinny and he said he did want food so I got him a plate of rice and beans and tortillas. He was cool and said, "thanks" and waved at my son and my son smiled at him.
When we got to the car my friend told me she didn't think it was a good idea to talk to the homeless and that I was teaching my son that strangers were OK by doing what I did. I was more than a bit irritated by her comments. One, I don't hang out talking to the homeless. If someone looks like they might be mentally ill then I of course stay clear but if someone is just down and out why shouldn't I be kind? And two, why should I teach my son that he should just ignore people who are in need?
Her opinion was now that I am a mother I shouldn't be doing things like that anymore. Her words were something to the tune of "It is alright to be all liberal and save the world risky when you are young and single but you've got a child now and you have to think about more than yourself."
The old me would have probably torn into her but ironically since I have a child now I am pretty careful about arguing in front of him and exposing him to negativity so I changed the subject. I was really kind of shocked at how much she made out of that. What risk did she think we actually took by feeding some poor old guy who was hungry? And now that I have a child shouldn't I care even more about saving the world? And the whole idea that he should be fearing strangers is silly. Yes, I will teach him how to protect himself from predatory people and teach him not to talk to strangers when his mom or dad aren't near but you can help him to be safe without teaching that all strangers are bad. Also the idea that a homeless person is somehow a more dangerous stranger to your child than a non-homeless one is just a wrong headed myth. The vast majority of child predators are as normal looking as anyone else. We talked to several other "normal" looking strangers that day and she didn't think that was any problem.

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing what some others think about this sort of thing.