Child Safety Tips:
Recap & Resources
Child Safety Tips are best taught by role-playing, not just talking. Play the "what if" game so they’ll learn how to respond to situations such as: "What if a stranger on the phone starts asking too many questions?" "What if the doorbell rings?" “What if you and your friends find a gun in your friend’s house?” "What if a stranger tries to get you to go with him?" “What if you get separated from family or friends in crowds?” Talk with your children often and ask them if they ever feel unsafe or uncomfortable. If so, find out why. SUMMARY: Child Safety Tips for PARENTSStaying actively involved in your children’s lives helps keep molesters out. Always know where your kids are, who they’re with, and what they’re doing. Predators avoid children with watchful parents who are active in their lives. Volunteer to chaperone extracurricular activities, especially those involving overnight trips. Know your children's friends, their families, and those they baby-sit. Get as much information as you can. In all, stay fully involved in your child’s life. Teach them to be S.A.F.E.: Skeptical, Aware, Flexible, and Explosive (see Victim’s Options - Overview). SUMMARY: Safety Tips for KIDSTell your kids again and again: "Never go anywhere without my OK." And, "Always tell me the truth – keep no secrets from me." Always reward your child for telling you the truth – never punish them for it. Make sure your child can always trust you with the truth.
CHILD SAFETY TIPS – PHONE
• Teach your child how to use a phone to call for help. Post Emergency Information near your phone so your children, guests, or a babysitter can call more effectively. List your phone number, the numbers of friends, relatives, neighbors, pediatrician, poison control, utilities, your office number and wherever else you might be.
• Near your phone, post your address, cross-streets, house description, and directions to your home. Install six-inch high black-on-white (or reflective) house numbers on your house in a highly visible location – and paint four-inch black-on-white numbers on the curb by your driveway.
• Keep a current list of the names and phone numbers of your child’s friends. If your child is missing, immediately search your house and likely locations, call your child’s friends, then call the police. A parent’s rapid response is crucial.
Personal Safety Devices
• Child Alarms at www.guarddog.net alert you if your child wanders away beyond 30 feet. A variety of models are available. I highly recommend these if used with the utmost parental discretion.
• Alarms (a.k.a. noisemakers). An attacker won’t likely chase a noisy target. See www.guarddog.net.
• For complete child safety, follow the guidance thoughout Crime-Safety-Security.com, especially Home Security - Overview.
CHILD SAFETY TIPS & RESOURCES
Child Safety Books
• The After-School Lives of Children: Alone and With Others While Parents Work by Deborah Belle. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates 1999.
• Child Lures: What Every Parent and Child Should Know About Preventing Sexual Abuse and Abduction by Kenneth Wooden. Summit Publishing Group 1995. Contact at childlures.org.
• Missing! Stranger Abduction by Robert Stuber, the founder of children’s “escape schools” at bobstuber.com.
• My Body Is Private by Linda Walvoord Girard and Rodney Pate. Albert Whitman & Company 1992. Helps parents teach children aged 4-8.
• Protecting the Gift: Keeping Children and Teenagers Safe by Gavin de Becker. Dial 1999.
• Raising Safe Kids in an Unsafe World: 30 Simple Ways to Prevent Your Child from Becoming Lost, Abducted or Abused by Jan Wagner. Avon Books 1996.
• The Safe Zone: A Kid’s Guide to Personal Safety by Donna Chaiet. Morrow Junior Books 1998. For children aged 8-15, scenarios for role-play and discussion between parent and child.Child Safety & Self-Defense Programs
• Impact Personal Safety programs for men, women, and children are at www.PrepareInc.com.
• RadKids.org superbly covers both child self-defense and all-around child safety tips for ages 5-12. The level of instruction increases for each age group. And it’s a terrific bargain: pay the fee once and your child can come back again and again at no cost at any RadKids location. I HIGHLY recommend it. Even the very best parent cannot possibly cover what RadKids thoroughly does – all in a gentle and fun fashion. (I’d love to see this program expand globally – you can become a certified RadKids instructor and bring this comprehensive lifesaving program to your hometown. Just do it!)
• www.Little-Safe-One.com has many all-around tips for keeping your little one safe. Amber Alerts
In the U.S., enroll at no cost to receive Amber Alerts on your cell phone whenever a child is abducted in your area. The more people on the lookout for a certain person and/or car, the better the chance of rescuing that child. It’s easy, just do it! Go to www.wirelessamberalerts.org. Choosing a Family-Friendly Watchdog
Dog-Paw-Print.com. Child Drowning Prevention
Children – even tiny toddlers – can learn to save themselves from drowning! See www.ChildDrowningPrevention.com for a crucial lifesaving program. Background Checks for child safety
Find out if someone (assuming he’s using his real name) was ever in a U.S. prison at www.fbi.gov. You can also, for no fee, go to www.CriminalSearches.com website. It also shows a map with names of convicted sex offenders in a specific neighborhood, and sends you e-mail alerts when someone in your life is arrested or someone with a criminal record moves in nearby. Or see www.sexualoffenders.com. ... However, the above sources are often incomplete, and there’s no way to distinguish between people with the same name if you don’t know their Date of Birth (and even that is often missing). Nevertheless, you can always hire a private detective – a simple background check usually costs $50-100.
Safety Tips for Kids
While teaching child safety and kidnap prevention to countless kids over the years, I've researched comprehensive child safety tips for stranger danger, child molesters, personal safety devices, and Internet safety tips for kids from the very best books, hotlines, training courses, and web sites. Find all of child safety here:• Child Safety - Overview
• 911 Calls: how to do it right.
• Stop Bullying in school, as well as cyber bullying FAQ.
• Free-Range Kids vs Myth Busters
• Stranger Danger vs Stranger Safety FAQ
• Child - Molester Safety: the subtle warning signs.
• Child Safeguarding from molesters, bullies, and more.
• Child - Internet Safety: the dangers & safeguards.
• Child - Outdoor Safety: staying out of harm’s way.
• Child - Kidnapping Escape from a monster.
• Recap & Resources: a summary of this section. (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Security Products - Personal Devices Return to
Child Safety - Overview
www.Crime-Safety-Security.com HOME PAGE
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