Never leave your children unsupervised, make sure they know important information and develop code words with them in case of emergency.
These are only some of the child safety tips the Honeydew Police issued in light of Child Protection Week (31 May to 7 June this year).
Honeydew Police spokesperson Karen Jacobs urged parents to teach their children to recite their full names, ages, telephone numbers and addresses before they start school, in case of an emergency.
“Children need to know how to contact you as their parent, the police or any other close relatives,” Jacobs said.
It is not advised to leave a child home alone, but when children are alone, they should always tell anyone who phones their parents are there and cannot attend to a phone call at the moment.
“A person that is phoning the household can always phone back later — this is to prevent a situation where anyone knows your child is alone and takes advantage of the situation; children should hang up the phone after they gave the message, especially if the person on the other end of the line continues to talk.”
The old warning of not opening the door to or interacting with strangers when alone holds true, she said. Children should also play or walk with other children and ask a parent’s permission before they accept gifts from strangers. If a child is separated from his or her parents, they should know to go to the nearest public place or store employee for help. Never leave a child alone in a vehicle.
“Listen to your children and pay attention if they tell you they do not feel comfortable with a person or a place.
“Take note of people paying your child a great deal of attention or giving them gifts, and teach your child to refuse unwelcome, uncomfortable or confusing attention like touches or actions,” Jacobs said.
Other tips include:
• If they cannot get out of an uncomfortable situation, teach children to kick, scream and resist by saying ‘this person is not my father/ mother/ guardian’
• Be sensitive in changes to children’s behaviour or attitude.
• Encourage open communication and become an active listener.
• Stay calm, be reassuring and non-judgmental if a child tells of problems.
• Practise basic safety skills with children, make an outing to a mall or park an educational experience so they know to take friends with to the bathroom and find responsible adults if they need assistance.
• Develop code words so that anyone that interacts with one’s child (with permission) can use it to let children know they’re in safe hands.
Report crime to Honeydew Police on 011 801 8604, Roodepoort Police on 011 279 6400 or Florida Police on 011 831 7000.
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