Child safety tips

Safety Every Day

Here are some guidelines to discuss with your child.
• Stay away from public spaces, such as parks and school yards, when there are no other people around. You may have lots of room to practise biking skills, but you're also isolated.
• Don't visit parks at night or use deserted laneways as shortcuts.
• Identify neighbourhood Block Parent homes.
• When in an elevator, stand beside the control panel in case of an
emergency.
• Appreciate the power of the voice. If someone grabs him, he should
scream at the top of his lungs ("Help!" "Kidnap!"). Tell him that if he can't attract help by yelling, he should spin around as fast as he can, which makes it hard for someone to hold onto him. If he can break free, he should run as fast as he can.
• Even a small child should learn to recite back to you her full name and its spelling, telephone number, and address. It's also important to teach your children your own full names, phone numbers at work sites, and the names of the places where you work.

• Children should learn to listen to their own internal radar. If a voice inside tells them that something or someone isrA right, it's probably correct,
• Never hitchhike, and never accept a ride with strangers.
• When lost or in trouble, contact an appropriate adult. A mom with young kids is a good choice.
• Children should be wary of an adult who asks them for help, even if it's just the time or directions. Bypass T-shirts with personal names on them. They could provide the lure for an abductor, who would use the name to secure the child's trust.
• Never reveal to anyone who calls on the phone or comes to the door that you're alone at home, even if that's the case. Parents should role-play these situations to help their children develop some standard replies to use so that their inability to lie doestA reveal more than they realize.
• If a school bully or other attacker threatens you and demands your money or other possessions, hand them over. 'When you've escaped harm, tell your teacher or a parent.
• Always tell your parents where yotAe going.
• Turn down job offers, rides, or gifts from any strangers.
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate touching, and understand that no one has a right to touch you in a way that makes you uncomfortable. If someone does, tell an adult you trust. Refuse invitations to visit someone else's house, or refuse to invite someone into your own house without first getting parental permission.

For parents
• Guard against developing a false sense of security. Remember, children are always changing and developing.
• Keep an up-to-date photo of your children around, preferably one that is full-face, simple, and clear.
• Record changes in your child's height, weight, and hair colouring each year, perhaps when you take him in for a yearly physical examination.
• Know your children's friends and their parents and their addresses, and acquaint yourselves with their hangouts.
• Expect the unexpected. Don't be the parents who express surprise when their child who "has never done that before" has an accident.
• Understand the basics of first aid. Research shows that if people get trained in first aid, their risk of injury goes down 30 per cent over the next five years.

Traffic and Outdoor Safety
By teaching your child pedestrian safety, you help her deal with the main danger in her life. Motor vehicle accidents are the Number One cause of injury and death for children. Those in the age group between five and nine are more likely to die as pedestrians than as passengers in a vehicle. It's the responsibility of parents to teach kids how to negotiate traffic safely. Practise with your child until she knows these traffic safety rules:
• Learn and obey all signs and traffic or pedestrian signals.
• Don't walk from between parked cars to cross the street; go to the pedestrian crossing.
• Look in all directions, even at the pedestrian crossing, before you cross the street.
• Walk-don't run-when you cross the street or any road.
• When you have to walk where there's no sidewalk, walk on the left side of the road facing toward the oncoming traffic.
• Don't play games in the street; play in a safer place away from the traffic.
When you pick outdoor clothes for your child, remember that pedestrians with retro-reflective gear are visible to motorists at a much greater distance. Remind her that a cassette/radio with headphones can be distracting and prevent her from hearing any warning horn signals from drivers.