Children must be taught about safety issues

The school holiday at the beginning of October may be brief, but it offers a very handy opportunity to make sure your children know how to be safe when they are not at school for an extended period of time.

That was the advice from a private security company, who this week released tips and advice for parents and guardians who want to ensure the safety of their children.

“Personal safety simply must be part of your child’s education.

“If we can teach them how to be able to fend for themselves throughout the year, we don’t have to start from scratch when a long end-of-year holiday arrives,” said Theunis Kotze, ADT inland regional manager.

The October school break, he said, could be used as a dry-run to test if your children know all the dos and don’ts for personal safety.

“It starts at home.

“Your children must know to always keep all entrances and gates closed and locked and that nobody is allowed to enter without permission from either parent.

“If you have a home security system installed teach them how to activate and deactivate it and how and when to use other security devices like panic buttons,” Kotze said.

He added that it is a good idea to have a list of emergency contact numbers available and that your children know who to contact if they need help.

The telephone numbers for the local police station, your private security company, the emergency number for your neighbourhood watch, and possibly a trusted neighbour should definitely be on that list.

“If your child must leave the safety of your home for whatever reason, make sure they tell you where they are going and when they are expected to arrive.

“We recommend testing any routes with your children ahead of time to make sure they don’t inadvertently choose a road or area that is fraught with potential risks.

“Try and identify any ‘safe spaces’ (such as a trusted neighbour) along the route where your child could call for help in case they need it,” said Kotze.

“Instead of starting these safety training sessions anew, it makes more sense to instil a sense of responsibility with your children that they follow throughout the year.

“As much as we would love to look after our children 24/7, there will come a time when they have to fend for themselves.

“We have to prepare and equip them.

“Safety must be a part of your child’s education.”

Public spaces – such as shopping malls – are also an area for which your children should be prepared.

“Teach your children to memorise their name, surname, home address and contact details for one of their parents.

“Also make sure they know that if they do become separated from you, that they immediately look for mall security and give them the information they have memorised,” Kotze said.

He also recommended agreeing on a code word with children which would be used in a situation where someone else needs to fetch them from home or from a place they had been visiting.

“This code word would be a sign that the person collecting them has genuinely been sent by a parent and could be trusted,” he said.

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