The world we live in isn’t always a safe one, and that can make it difficult for parents to give their children freedom when they want to exert their independence. For example, is it safe for an elementary school student to walk home from school? We would like to think so, but that may not always be the case.

Sammy Green is a 10-year-old boy who lives in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with this family. He usually walks home from school, and his dad made sure that his son knew what to do if he ever ran into any danger or felt uncomfortable on his way home. One day, Green had to use that training.

Green was on his way home from school when a woman he didn’t know started following him and asking him questions. He felt uncomfortable with the woman near him and her strange questions. For example, she asked him if he was going to Wawa, and she offered to buy him whatever he wanted if he went there with her.

Green didn’t fall for the woman’s offer of free food at Wawa. Instead, he remembered what his dad had taught him and put it into action. He walked to a store he was familiar with and went inside. The store’s surveillance video captured Green and the woman who was following him on camera, but it was not the security footage that made Green feel safer. It was what happened after he entered the store.

When he walked inside, he walked right up to the lady at the cash register, a 17-year-old girl named Hannah Daniels. He whispered in Daniels’ ear, telling her there was a woman following him, and he asked Daniels to “pretend like you’re my mom.”

Daniels told CBS news, “I was just like, ‘All right, go to the back.’ He didn’t want to leave my side.”

Green stood behind Daniels as she walked to the door where the woman who had been following Green was still standing, holding the door open. Daniels closed the door and locked it. In the video below, you can see this encounter for yourself.

Green’s dad, Sam Green is glad his son is safe and cries whenever he sees the security video of his son whispering to Daniels. He is glad his son knew what to do. He wants everyone who hears about this story to understand how important it is to prepare their children for similar situations. He told CBS News, “Think of every scenario and make sure that children know and also practice it. Practice your situations and scenarios just like fire drills.”