PROTECT YOUR CHILD - MAKE KIDS STRANGER SAVVY

Don't give a stranger an opportunity to take advantage of your child's innocence. Here are some tips to help develop your child's awareness of 'stranger dangers.'

Stranger Danger:
Here are six tricks commonly used by strangers to lure children. Discuss these scenarios with your kids - and come up with a few more of your own. Role-playing exercises are a great way to teach your kids how to react properly to various situations.

1. Asking for help: Adults should ask other adults for help; they should not ask children. Teach your child to stand at arm's reach, say no and run away immediately.
2. Offering gifts: Children should be instructed to stay out of reach and never accept items from a stranger.
3. Saying there is an emergency and that the child's parents have sent them: In a real emergency, someone the child knows should be given that task. Have a secret family code word.
4. Getting your child to let them in the house: Only an adult should open a door to a stranger. If there are no adults present, the child should say that Mom or Dad is busy - try again later. A kid should never admit to a stranger that they are home alone.
5. Getting a child to admit over the telephone that they are home alone: "Is your mother or father home?" The child should say that Mom or Dad is busy, offer to take a message and hang up.
6. Telling a child that his parents don't love him anymore: No matter what happens, your child should know he or she is loved - always.

Don't have backpacks and clothing with the child's name visibly on it. It allows a stranger to call the child by name, and kids are less suspicious of (and more likely to obey) someone who knows their name.

Police uniforms can be bought or acquired at a costume shop: If someone in uniform approaches them at school or home, have your child go to a known adult or school official to verify the "officer." A true police officer will understand such precautions and applaud them where as a fake one will become belligerent and try to use force.

Your child should establish personal space. Always stay at arm's length from strangers.

If your child has to walk on the public streets, tell them to walk in the "middle" of the sidewalk, away from doorways and alleyways. They should face traffic so someone can't drive up from behind and grab them, and always watch for strangers when they approach.

Don't take "unsafe shortcuts" across parks, etc.

Children should get the immediate attention of anyone nearby if they feel threatened. Yell "FIRE! FIRE!" and NOT "HELP!" A fire is such a threat to everyone that they generally come to at least see what's happening. They can also say, "This is not my Mom/Dad." Break a window if necessary. Tell them, "Don't be afraid to draw attention to yourself!" The window can be replaced, but your child cannot be replaced!"

At School and At Play:

• Check out your child's school route. One morning, take time to walk your child to school so that you can answer some important questions about his/her route. Do all the streets have sidewalks, or must your child sometimes walk on the road? Do all the busy intersections have traffic lights or crossing guards? Does your child walk through areas known for crime or drug-dealing? If you are concerned about what you discover, then help your child plan an alternate route and take him/her on a test run.
• Check out the school's policies on absent children - are parents called when a child is absent?
• Start a neighborhood watch program. Recruit parents and retirees who live near the school to keep an eye out for bullying, suspicious adults, and reckless motorists. If neighborhood watchers call police with the license numbers of cars that speed or do not yield to children, the police will send the owners letters warning them to be more careful near the school. Also recruit homes, fire stations, and businesses to serve as "safe zones" where children know they can go if they feel in danger and post signs on these buildings to identify them.
• Get your child to talk about threatening behavior. Most of the young people who commit serious acts of violence in schools or attempt suicide give clear warning to other kids about their intentions. Let your child know that he/she can talk openly with you about other children's alarming words or behavior. If he/she reports anything that may seriously threaten his/her safety or that of others in her school, discuss with him/her the importance of alerting teachers or school staff, and agree on a way to do it.
• Teach children to settle arguments with words, not fists, and to walk away when others are arguing. Remind them that taunting and teasing can hurt friends and make enemies.
• Draw in your child's drawstrings. Not only are they easy to grab, but long drawstrings on sweatshirts or sweatpants can easily tangle in school bus handrails and doors, as well as on slides and other playground equipment. Long straps on backpacks can also become trapped in school bus doors. Children have been strangled by their drawstrings and dragged through the streets by their backpack straps, so shorten both to protect your child.
• Make sure your child knows not to talk to strange people on the other side of schoolyard fence. They should go and tell a teacher that a stranger is talking to them, especially if they are asking "any" questions.
• Check out daycare and after-school programs - look at certifications, staff qualifications, rules on parent permission for field trips, reputation in the community, parent participation, and policies on parent visits

At Home Alone:
Just like the majority of American parents who work and have to leave their children on their own after school everyday, you are anxious about your child's safety.

By following the safeguards listed below, you can help ease some of this worry and take measures that will protect your kids even when you're not around.

Is your child ready?
Can your children:

• Be trusted to go straight home after school?
• Easily use the telephone, locks, and kitchen appliances?
• Follow rules and instructions well?
• Handle unexpected situations without panicking?
• Stay alone without being afraid?
  

Safety Tips:

• Make sure your children are old enough and mature enough to care for themselves.
• Know the three "W's": Where your kids are, What they're doing, and Who they're with. (Don't forget to check on state law about the age at which children can be left at home alone.)
  
• Have your child check in with you or a neighbor when he or she gets home.
• Leave a phone number where you can be reached. Post it by the phone, along with numbers for a neighbor and emergencies - police and fire departments, paramedics, and the poison control center.

• Teach your child how to give directions to your home, in case of emergency.
  
• Let your child know to never enter the home if something looks wrong - door open, window broken
  
• Make sure your child knows how to use the window and door locks.
  
• Make sure your child never lets anyone know that he or she is alone, and to never let anyone in the house, not even someone claiming to be a police officer or from the fire department. Those kinds of professionals know to forcibly enter in case of an emergency.
  
• Tell your child not to let anyone into the home without your permission, and never to let a caller at the door or on the phone know there's no adult home. Kids can always say their parents are busy and take a message.
  
• Agree on rules for having friends over and going to a friend's house when no adult is home.
  
• Your child should not use any appliance without your permission
  
• Always keep keys hidden from view
  
• Never put your home address on your child's key chain in case it is lost
  
• Make sure they do not lend their key to anyone
  
• Remind your child to remove the key from the door
  
• If your child loses their key, remind them not to panic. It can happen to anyone. Help them remember when they last had it and retrace their steps
  
• Tell your child not to let anyone know they've lost their key, except their backup emergency person and yourself
• Work out an escape plan in case of fire or other emergencies. Rehearse it with your children.

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