Safety Skills for Kids
We hope that all kids pass through childhood without ever experiencing physical or emotional harm. As a parent, one of your responsibilities is to teach your children how to protect themselves and respond to threatening situations. As law enforcement, we have a similar responsibility. It's important to always listen to your children's fears and feelings about people or places that scare them or make them feel uncomfortable.
The Basics:
- Make sure your child knows their full name, address, and phone number. Teach them how to make emergency calls from home and public phones.
- Show them safe places they can go to in an emergency, like a neighbor's house or a fire/police station.
- Tell them never to accept gifts or rides from someone they don't know well. Stay away from strangers!
- Teach them to go to a store clerk or security guard and ask for help if you become separated in a store or shopping mall. Tell them never to go into the parking lot alone.
- Accompany your children to public restrooms.
- Teach them that no one, not even someone they know, has the right to touch them in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. Tell them they have a right to say "No."
At School and Play:
- Make sure your children are taking the safest route to school and friends' houses.
- Encourage them to walk and play with friends, not alone, and to stay in well-lighted, open areas where others can see them.
- Teach them to walk confidently and stay alert to what's going on around them.
- Encourage them to look out for other kids' safety and report anything they see that doesn't seem right.
- Tell them to stay away from strangers who hang around playgrounds, public restrooms, and empty buildings. Stay away from strangers!
At Home Alone:
- Make sure your kids can reach you by telephone at work. They should have your number and an emergency contact’s phone number memorized and not just stored in their phone.
- Have them check in with you at work or with a neighbor when they get home.
- Work out an escape plan in case of fire. Arrange a special meeting place to meet at once everyone is out of the home.
- Tell them to never open the door to a stranger.
- Make sure they know how to work the door and window locks and that they use them when they are inside alone.
Whereas these are merely guidelines, the important thing to remember is to keep an open and honest exchange of information between yourself and your children.
For additional information visit Safe Kids Worldwide.