Personal Security of Children:
Ensure that children’s rooms are not readily accessible from outside the house.
Instruct children never to admit strangers to the house. As soon as they are able to learn, teach them when and how to alert police or neighbours.
Instruct children attending school always to:
- Travel in groups or at least pairs.
- Use well frequented thoroughfares.
- Avoid play-areas outside the school.
- Refuse gifts or approaches from strangers.
- Report attempts of an approach immediately to the nearest responsible adult and tell you as soon as possible.
- Tell you at all times where and with whom they will be, when away from the house.
- Never discuss what you do and to tell you if they are ever questioned about you by anyone.
- Encourage your children to report suspicious incidents to you.
- Young children should be accompanied to and from bus stops, where necessary.
Also:
- Do not allow pre-school children to wander from the house or to play in areas where they cannot be supervised.
- Discourage children from answering the door, especially during hours of darkness.
- Do not allow younger members of the family to collect or open your mail.
- Young children should be discouraged from answering the telephone, as they may unintentionally give out information detrimental to your safety.
- Employ only mature, responsible baby-sitters in whom you have complete trust. Ensure that they are well acquainted with procedures for opening the door and answering the telephone and make sure that they know where you can be reached, and where to find emergency telephone numbers.
- If a child is attending school, arrange with the school authorities to contact you before releasing the child to the custody of anyone you have not previously nominated. If the school is a day school, arrange for the child to be accompanied on each journey by a responsible adult or by other children.
Absence:
If you leave your residence for a period of days, ensure it is locked and secured. Arrange for visits to be made by the police and neighbours. On return be suspicious. Do not push excessively against a door that normally opens easily.
