The world is a crazy place nowadays and it's hard to know what to do with your kids. The fine line of balance between being overprotective and cautious is teetered daily. You want to make sure that you're allowing them to be kids but also want to make sure that they are safe from the nut bars that walk our streets on the regular. Back to school does not help. Here are 5 tips for attempting to keep your kids safe as the school year begins....
1. Phone Vigilance. This doesn't apply to everyone but here's the deal: Your kids playing Pokemon Go while they're walking to school are not paying attention. They aren't looking for cars coming at them but they're also not keep an eye out for the people around them. Yes, it's unlikely that they could get abducted in the twenty feet from your car at drop off to the playground but child predators are crafty and you don't want them to not be paying attention. Period. Teach them to keep the phones in their backpacks (on silent or off) from the minute they get to school. No game is more important than their safety and well-being. This also goes for checking your children's phones for chats and inappropriate pictures. Sext blackmail is a very real thing that predators use.
2. Be On Your Toes and Travel in Groups (when possible): I don't care if you live in the most ritzy neighborhood in the country, abductions are real. You may walk your kids to and from school and that's great but there are still field trips and other occasions where the kids are out and about. Make sure they are paying attention to their surroundings. Try to make sure that they're always traveling with others, as abductions are less likely when a child is with a group.
3. Talk to them about stranger danger. This sounds incredibly simple but it is lacking in a whole lot of families. Parents don't want to scare their kids. Parents want to keep their children in their safe little bubble. Unfortunately, though, it's a necessary evil to let your kids know that there are bad people in the world and they don't always look like they do in the movies. In fact, a whole lot of them look like very normal people. I like to recommend the video that was made by the creator of Baby Einstein and John Walsh. It's simple terminology but very clear. Teach your kids that strangers will say ANYTHING from lost puppies to you being hurt.
4. Establish a code word. Again, this may make you roll your eyes but can you guarantee that if your 5 year old would know what to do in a stranger situation, "Hey Katie. Mommy was in a terrible accident. Your dad asked me to come get you and take you to the hospital."...Guess what; research shows that a whole lot of "Katie's" are going to get in the car. Predators know how to play on the kids' emotions. Establish a word that ONLY you, your safe person (in case you're hurt or otherwise unavailable) and your kids know. Make sure they know not to tell ANYONE and to NEVER go with ANYONE unless they can tell you that word.
5. Don't put their names on things. I can't stress this enough. STOP PUTTING YOUR KIDS' NAMES ON BACKPACKS AND CLOTHES. It's cute and "easy to identify" when they're all in a pile but it's also easy for child predators to say, "Hey Brandon, come here." Kids assume that adults that know their names know THEM. If you REALLY feel the need to put their name on their backpack for identification, put it on the area where the straps go. This makes certain that their name is not showing when they are out and about. Better yet, if you really need that outside "name", simply put their initials. It still allows easy identification but gives added protection from a predator being able to single them out.
It sucks that we have to worry about these things but we must be vigilant to attempt to protect our kids. Please share this info with your friends and make sure to practice it yourself to help in the fight to keep your little ones safe and sound.
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