Simple Rules of Safety

To help increase a child's awareness of potential danger, parents should consider these general rules:

Make sure your child knows his/her full name, address (including state), telephone number (including area code), and how to reach the operator or make a long-distance call.

• Teach your child that they should not go with anyone that they do not know well. There are people who want kids to go somewhere with them or want to give them a present, like candy or a puppy, or want to take their picture. Tell your child that if they have anyone ask them to go with them, for whatever reason, they should tell you about them immediately.
• Some parents set a code word with their children. The children are not to go with anyone unfamiliar to them, unless they give the code word.
• Tell your child that it is unusual for adults to ask children for help or for directions and that it is best to ignore them. If a stranger calls your child to a car, he/she shouldn't go near it. If he/she is followed by an automobile or on foot, he/she should run home, to the nearest public place, or yell "Help!" Children should not run and hide in a deserted place.
• Keep a copy of your child's fingerprints and be able to locate dental records. Take photographs every year (four times annually for children under two). Take a picture of the child's profile and full face.
• Don't buy items with your child's name on them, such as t-shirts or lunch boxes. Children will respond more readily to a stranger if they are addressed by name.
• Instruct your child never to answer the door when home alone or tell anyone over the phone that he/she is home alone.
• Outline what your child should do if he/she becomes separated from you. If separated while shopping, the child should not look for you but go immediately to the nearest checkout counter and ask a clerk for assistance. Tell him/her never to go to the parking lot.
• Never leave a child unattended in a car.
• Don't leave children unattended in grocery carts or let them wander through stores alone. Parent's should be especially careful about leaving children in the toy department while they shop elsewhere.
• Be sure your child's school or day-care center will not release him/her to anyone but you or someone designated by you.
• Tell your child that no one has the right to touch him/her or make him/her feel uncomfortable or ask him/her to keep a secret from you.
• Make sure the child knows the full name of his/her parents.