Security tips for children safety
According to Missing Children South Africa, a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa.
The safety of our children is an important topic that should be discussed all year round – not just during school holidays, and not just during Youth Month. Over the last few weeks, we have seen reports of terrifying incidents of attempted kidnapping of children in the Gauteng area.
Charnel Hattingh National Marketing & Communications Manager for Fidelity ADT says, “We need to ensure that our children are always protected. It boils down to making sure your children know exactly how to avoid possible danger, and also what they must do in case something bad happens to them. Recent incidents have also been a red flag reminder to parents to remain vigilant around their small children at all times. The kidnapping of children in shopping centers or retail outlets is a reality.”
According to Missing Children South Africa, a child goes missing every five hours in South Africa. Fortunately, according to their statistics, 77% of children are found. Sadly, this means that at least 23% of the children are not found.
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Hattingh shared some personal security tips that parents can follow to make a difference in the safety of their children and to give everyone peace of mind:
• Don’t put your child’s name on his/her clothing or visibly on a backpack. If you have to mark clothes for school, rather label them on the inside where the name is not easily visible to strangers. Children often trust adults who know their names.
• Teach your little one to scream help or something similar if a stranger picks them up.
• If seated at an outside restaurant, rather select a table further in rather than one closest to the road. This will make child-snatching that much more difficult.
• Teach your child not to accept gifts or sweets from strangers. They should always check with you first.
• If your child is old enough, teach her your name, surname, and telephone number. If they get lost they should go to Mall security first.
• Never leave your child unsupervised – not even in the play area of a restaurant. Always make sure you have eyes on her at all times. Parents often even get distracted while shopping and leave children in a trolley unattended. They can disappear in a second.
• Never ask a stranger to hold your baby.
• If you’ve arranged for someone else to pick your child up from daycare or preschool, discuss this arrangement with your child and the teacher so they never get into a stranger’s car or someone they are not expecting.
• Invest in a GPS tracking device. Toddlers are very busy and it’s not difficult to lose sight of them – especially in busy shopping centers.
*Source Living & Loving
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