On the news, countless children who are victims of harm, kidnapping, or killings and on children gone missing surfaces most often.
It’s very unthinkable that some people can be out to be perpetrators of such crimes to innocent children in society.
Many times, these perpetrators of these crimes pick their targets at random. And they’ve known how to go on with their crimes.
Most times, it could be when their victims are at the wrong place at the wrong time themselves, or when the criminals are at the right place and at the right time.
However, in every case, ensuring that none of these situations exists could ensure the safety of your child.
Child safety for every parent or guardian is an important one. It’s a big one that they should not care less about it.
Well, in this article, there are 8 tips on how you can improve your child’s safety and keep them away from criminals.
Tell your child to avoid strangers.
Strangers are those that aren’t related to your child. It’s Okay you inform your child to avoid such people. Tell your child to only go with people mum and dad approved. Anyone outside the approved members of the family and friends should be a NO-NO for your kids. Sometimes, your kid will need a constant reminder for you to drive this point home. And always make sure that you don’t forget to do so.
Help your child to memorize some phone numbers and your house address.
For parents, helping your kids to memorize your number is very important. For them to have your number offhand will enable the authorities to track them if they happen to get missing in a public place like the mall. Always tell them to recite the phone numbers for you to ensure they still remember them. Equally, your house address is great for them to know in case if there is a need for them to say it to the authorities when they go missing.
Tell your kids to hang out with their friends in your home.
You can invite your kid’s friend to your home. And allow them to hang out together with each other. From doing so, you‘ll get to know your kids’ friends better and know how they relate to each other as friends. It’ll be a bit better if you can as well get their parents involved and create a support network from there. Your kids will appreciate this a lot and this will help to keep them safe away from strangers.
Encourage your kids to make reports to their teachers when necessary.
Suspicious acts exist even in the school environment. Cases of inappropriate behaviours exist in schools and when they are reported, actions can follow against them.
However, when your child is at school, it’s the school’s responsibility to keep them safe from any form of harm or abuse. So. Your child must know this part.
Checkmate what your child does with the internet.
Most sex offenders got their victims from the internet. They’re always on the hunt for their next victims which in most cases are kids. So as a parent, you can help to break such access by monitoring your kid’s activities online. Those criminals mostly ask for some personal information such as addresses. Ensure you discourage your child from giving out such information to people online. If your child has a social media account, discourage them most times to avoid accepting strangers.
Teach your child to always check his surroundings.
Some kids walk themselves home from school. Or they go on errands in their community. While walking, always encourage them to observe their environment at all times. Let them be on the lookout for Strange characters, or parked vehicles, or People standing or waiting on the way. Whenever they noticed suspicious persons, they should cry out for help to safeguard themselves from imminent danger.
Self-defense techniques.
You may have to consider giving your child some lesson on Simple self-defense techniques. Such can equip your child on how to defend himself during an attack from criminals. The child doesn’t need to become an expert on the self-defense technique. Well, it will help him in his defense.
Provide a whistle for your child.
A whistle can provide attention and draws support in the case of imminent danger. So, getting one for your child will help a lot. Repeated whistleblowing in the face of a suspicious-looking suspicious-looking person will make the person uncomfortable and will help to scare the person away.
A final note on Child safety.
These tips are there to encourage more safety on the side of your child. It does not mean to make your child more paranoid, but to help them to look after themselves since you as the parents will not always be by their side at all times.
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Onyeka Emma is a QHSE Professional with more than 10 years of experience in occupational health and safety, which spans many industries such as construction, beverage, oil and gas, etc. He has many health and safety certifications, including NEBOSH IGC, ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015, and ISO 45001:2018 Lead auditor certificate. A member of IOSH, ISPON, and Nigeria Red Cross Society. He is interested in business, entrepreneurship, Speaking, and motivating people to do better for themselves. He enjoys leisure with a good motivational book.
