POLOKWANE – As soon as you become a parent the safety of your child becomes your top priority. It happens so fast nowadays that one moment your child is next to you, the next moment, they’re gone. We always think it cannot happen to us, or that it won’t, yet so many children are still reported missing on a daily basis.
Review spoke to the creators of My Voice… When I’m Silent about safety tips every parent should know.
Local mothers, Adri Retief and Amelia Möller put together identi-kits to assist the police in finding a loved one. These kits contain DNA samples as well as photos that the parent or another loved one keep to hand over to the police in the case where someone disappears. (Read more about the kits in this week’s Review)
The number one rule is to never take your child’s safety for granted. “Never take your eyes off your children and teach them tips on how to say safe,” says Adri.
Amelia adds that social media plays a big role. “As parents, we think we are keeping our children safe by keeping them in the house on a phone. But how safe are they really? More and more children have access to social media and are more than happy to befriend people on social media sites whom they have never met in real life.”
She explains that the struggle to get more likes and more “friends” is real for teenagers. This makes social media the ideal hunting ground for online predators and would be kidnappers. “A teen’s natural curiosity and desire for independence means that they are willing to engage with these new, so-called friends, chatting with them and revealing more information about themselves and often even end up agreeing to meet them.”
Adri advises parents to remind their children to contact them should he or she feels threatened or scared. “Teach them hotline numbers and not to accept gifts from a people they do not know. Educate your children on how much information is too much and that they should not post personal information such as age, address, phone number and school.”
“Remember you can enable safety features such as disabling the tagging and location features so your child’s location is not disclosed. Monitor your child’s online activity and be aware of their passwords and logins.”
