Unexpected Dangers!
"Teaching Your Children to Pay Attention to Their Surroundings"
|
Da-Nay Macklin B.S., C.C.L.C |
Our countries most valuable resource is our
children - the leaders of tomorrow. As parents and members of society, it is
our responsibility to safeguard our children. The best depiction of this is the African proverb "it
takes a village to raise a child."
This article is intended to assist parents in arming their children
with the tools necessary to decipher and protect |
themselves
from unsafe surroundings. We send
our children off into the world with "trusted" individuals on a daily basis.
Those trusted people may include the school bus driver, babysitter, neighbor, teacher, and our communities. It is our hope and expectation for
their safe return home.
Unfortunately many children go missing for a multitude of reasons. One reason being their lack of
attention to their surroundings.
An alarming number of 797,500 children (younger than 18) were reported missing during a
one-year period of time. Resulting
in an average of 2,185 children being reported missing each day, according to
The U.S. Department of Justice.
Children of every age, gender, and race are vulnerable to child
abduction. Abduction is less
likely to occur by following these safety tips:
Home Safety: Children must know their full, legal
name, parents full, legal name, home phone number and how to use the telephone.
Children must have a trusted adult to call if they're scared or have an
emergency. Post your contact information where your children will see it (i.e.,
office phone number, cell phone, pager, etc). Also, be very selective in
choosing a babysitter. Obtain
references from family, friends, and neighbors. Once you have chosen the
caregiver, drop in unexpectedly to see how your children are doing. Ask your
children how the experience with the caregiver was, and listen carefully to their responses.
Neighborhood Safety: Create a list with your children of their neighborhood
boundaries, choosing significant landmarks. Plus interact regularly with your
neighbors. Tell your children whose homes they are allowed to visit. Do not drop your children off alone at
malls, movie theatres, video arcades, or parks. From here, teach your children that adults should not
approach children for help or directions. Bottom line, children should never go
anywhere with anyone without getting your permission first.
School
Safety: Be careful when you put your child's
name on clothing, backpacks, lunch boxes or bicycle license plates. If a child's
name is visible, it may put them on a "first name" basis with an
abductor. Also walk the route to and from school with your children, pointing
acceptable routes to school, using main roads and avoiding shortcuts or
isolated areas. If your children take a bus, visit the bus stop with them and
make sure they know which bus to take . And finally, every home and school
should teach children about safety and protection measures. As a parent, we should teach
our children that they can be assertive in order to protect themselves against
abduction. Make your home
a place of trust and support that fulfills your child's needs.
Together, we the "village" can protect our countries children by teaching them to be smart, strong, and safe.