|
Your Kid's Safety
Does your kid know what to do and how to keep safe while going to school and coming back alone, how to talk too a stranger at the street, how not to get lost in a mall or other dangers? Check by asking but start with updating your knowledge of your kid's safety by reading these tips. • Be sure your child knows his or her home phone number and address, your work number, the number of another trusted adult, and how to use 911 for emergencies. Make sure your child has enough change to make a phone call or carries a telephone calling card. • Plan a walking route to school or the bus stop. Choose the most direct way with the fewest street crossings and use intersections with crossing guards. Test the route with your child. Tell him or her to stay away from parks, vacant lots, fields, and other places where there aren't many people around. • Teach children -- whether walking, biking, or riding the bus to school -- to obey all traffic signals, signs, traffic officers, and safety patrols. Remind them to be extra careful in rainy, foggy, or snowy weather. • Make sure they walk to and from school with others -- a friend, neighbor, brother, sister. • When car pooling, drop off and pick up children as close to school as possible. Don't leave until they have entered the school yard or building. • Teach your child never to talk to strangers or accept rides or gifts from strangers. Remember, a stranger is anyone you or your children doesn't know well or doesn't trust. Gettinging To School By Bus. School bus transportation is safe. In fact, buses are safer than cars! Still you should remember these safety tips and let your child understand these: Have a safe place to wait for your bus, away from traffic and the street. Stay away from the bus until it comes to a complete stop and the driver signals you to enter. When being dropped off, exit the bus and walk ten giant steps away from the bus. Keep a safe distance between you and the bus. Also, remember that the bus driver can see you best when you are back away from the bus. Use the handrail to enter and exit the bus. Stay away from the bus until the driver gives his/her signal that it's okay to approach. Be aware of the street traffic around you. Drivers are required to follow certain rules of the road concerning school buses, however, not all do. Protect yourself and watch out! Walking and Biking Even if you don't ride in a motor vehicle, you still have to protect yourself. Because of minimal supervision, young pedestrians face a wide variety of decisions making situations and dangers while walking to and from school. Follow these:
Getting Lost Teach your kids what to do when they get lost. Give your kids the ability to talk to the right strangers if they're ever in a situation where they're lost, alone, or in danger. If your child becomes lost, the first thing he or she should do is to approach a woman and ask for help (women are more likely than men to become emotionally invested in your child and are statistically almost never sexual predators; plus, women are almost always around and easy to find). Encourage your young children to practice talking to strangers in a safe environment. Ask them how they feel about each situation, and practice what they might say. Here are some practical steps parents can take to reduce anxiety in the event a child is lost: • Dress small children in brightly colored, distinctive, easily describable outfits. Parents who remember what their children are wearing have less anxiety when they become separated. • Carry current photos of your kids. This is especially important on vacations, when families are in unfamiliar areas where being separated is even more likely. Bring along recent photos of your kids in case you get separated. • Have a plan. Agreeing beforehand that "If anybody gets lost, we'll meet at the food court" helps make reunions happen sooner. It's inevitable that at some time every parent will lose sight of a child in public. When this happens it is usually the result of inattention or wandering on the part of either the parent or child. Until a child is old enough to recognize predatory strategies, old enough and confident enough to resist them, assertive enough to seek help, and powerful enough to enforce the word "No" - until all that happens, a child is too young to be his own protector.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
