Throughout the month of August, the sights of backyard barbeques will be replaced by backpacks and buses. As you begin thinking about what the end of summer transition brings, here are 10 safety tips to prepare children for Back-to-School Season.
- Predators know the time of day when kids leave for school and know that parents may leave for work before school start time. Prior to leaving the house, tell children to check from front and back doors to make sure there are no lingering people or unfamiliar vehicles.
- Predators use a range of tactics to lure unsuspecting children into dangerous situations. Role play some sample scenarios with your child. Parents can pretend to be the “bad guy “and ask the child how to respond if this happened on the way to school.
- When approached by a stranger, it might be tempting to pull out a phone and immediately send a text. Remind children NOT to take their eyes off the stranger while he/she is present. Predators look for those split-second opportunities when a targeted victim is distracted.
- If your child is followed, he/she should go to a populated place like a neighborhood clubhouse.
- Provide children with a specific method for notifying adults of suspicious adults or vehicles. In addition, they MUST notify school personnel of any incident immediately upon arrival.
- Remind your child NOT to wear headphones when walking to school. Noise canceling features means a child cannot hear a person or vehicle approaching.
- Have a predetermined primary route to school. If your child carries a phone, check that the phone’s location settings are enabled to and from school.
- Visibly personalized items, like backpacks, make a child more vulnerable to being “called to” by a stranger and are a safety risk.
- Teach children to remember the physical description of the person then get to a safe place and report what happened to a trusted adult and the police.
I don’t have school-aged children, what can I do to be a good neighbor?
If you notice unfamiliar people in the vicinity during school travel hours, notify neighborhood property management or security personnel. Contact the local school to notify any suspicious activity you witness between school-aged children and adults.
