Child Safety
Recap & Resources

Child safety is 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.

Staying 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. Don't just drop them off at sport practices or youth centers. Many 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).

Go only where your parents know you are and keep no secrets from them. Never go anywhere without your parent's OK.

• 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. In addition, the panic-button/siren/strobe-light system described in Simple Home Electronics helps emergency personnel find your house more quickly – day or night.
• Keep a current list of the names and phone numbers of your child’s friends. If your child is missing, immediately search your house, call neighbors, call the police, and then call the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children at 800-THE-LOST (800-843-5678). A parent’s rapid response is crucial.
• Keep recent front and side photos of your child’s face – close-up with a plain background. School portraits work well. Take them on family trips for emergencies. The police will help with fingerprints for records. Or get Dr. Peter's ID Kit at www.drpetersidkit.com.

9-1-1 for KIDS
• Teach your child to call 9-1-1 if someone is badly hurt, a stranger is lurking around, a neighbor’s house is on fire, or someone is breaking into a neighbor’s house (or your own).
• If a child comes home from school and notices that the door is open and her parents aren't home – do not go inside. Instead go to a neighbor and ask for help.
• If a child notices that she's being followed by a stranger – run to the nearest house with an adult at home or to a store and ask for help.
Excerpted from www.911forkids.com

Help protect your child with:
• 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.

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 Contacts
• Impact Personal Safety programs for men, women, and children at www.prepareinc.com or 800-345-5425.
• Start or find a McGruff Safe Home Program in your neighborhood at 202-466-6272.
• Check sex offender registries at www.sexualoffenders.com.

Background Checks for child safety
Find out if someone was ever in a U.S. federal prison (assuming he’s using his real name) by calling 202-307-3126; or a state prison for a sex crime at www.fbi.gov. Or see www.CriminalSearches.com website (no fee). It also shows a map with names of anyone arrested 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. ... 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 birthdays (and even that date is often missing). Nevertheless, you can always hire a private detective – a simple background check usually costs $50-100.

Find all of child safety here:
• Child Safety - Overview
• 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: a summary of this section. (YOU’RE NOW ON THIS PAGE)
• Personal Security Products

Return to
Child Safety - Overview
Crime-Safety-Security Home Page