If your child is travelling to and from school alone, it can leave parents with a few grey hairs. Theunis Kotze, general manager of ADT Security Inland Region, offers some safety tips and advice to put parent’s mind at ease.
Kotze recommends that parents share these tips with their children in order to make sure they adhere to them every day.
- Your children should always walk to or from school with a friend or friends. They should stick to streets they know and never take shortcuts through quiet areas or empty parking lots
- If children get picked up from school, they should never leave the premises and always wait inside the school grounds for their lift to arrive
- Children should never get into a stranger’s car; even if the stranger claims that someone they love is hurt and that they are supposed to pick them up. Remind your children that you would never send someone they don’t know to fetch them
- Your child should never talk to strangers, no matter how friendly they seem. If someone tries to grab them, they need to fight, kick and scream that the person is not their mom or dad.
Kotze stated that for some families, a tight budget may mean that a domestic helper or au pair is not an option, resulting in children having to see themselves to and from school and keep themselves occupied until their parents return home.
“It is very important that children know how the alarm system and panic buttons at home work and when and how to use them,” he said, adding that parents should make a list of important telephone numbers – such as emergency services and mom and dad’s work and cellphone numbers. This list should be placed on or near the telephone.
“Emphasise how important it is not to let anyone into the house without your permission. If you are going to be late, let your children know as soon as possible and give them an idea of when they can expect you to be home,” he concluded.
