Crime and Safety:
Youth/Parents/Schools > Keys to Online Safety > Families & Schools > General Safety Guidelines for Parents
- Families should keep current photographs of each family member -- making sure to update children's pictures every six months.
- Pictures taken with inexpensive disposable cameras or Polaroid snapshots are acceptable.
- Be sure to get close enough to clearly show the child's facial features. Make a note of the child's height, weight, etc.
- A child's dental records are important for parents to have. Parents can easily get a mold of a child's teeth by having them carefully bite into a piece of smooth Styrofoam.
- Properly obtained fingerprints can also be a useful tool for parents to have for their children. Local law enforcement agencies often provide free fingerprinting services for children.
- Photographs, dental records, fingerprints and other important records should always be kept in an accessible, fireproof location, such as a safety deposit box or fireproof filing cabinet.
- Keeping copies of all records with a trusted relative may also be an inexpensive way to safeguard important documents.
Make every effort to safeguard your children, but don't be tricked into paying for products or services that can be obtained for free. - Contact your local law enforcement agency or the Arkansas Missing Children Services Program at (501) 682-1020 or (800) 448-3014 for more information on obtaining free safety information.
Teach Your Children To Be Aware
How would your child react to a threatening situation?
How can parents prepare their children to protect themselves from dangerous situations? It is essential to discuss what actions your children should take as well as what not to do when confronted. To help you prepare them, we present the following suggestions of how your child could deal with confusing situations.
How to present the situations:
- Describe the situation and then ask how your child would respond.
- Help direct your child's thinking to correct answers.
- Help them see what the consequences could be.
- Think of these warnings as necessary survival information, just as we warn children not to run in front of cars or pet strange animals.
- Be a helpful listener, and encourage your child to tell you what seems embarrassing or frightening to them.
- Be sure you never demean or ridicule your children when they do confide in you.
- Prepare a plan which includes a secret code word, for use during an emergency situation.
FOR CHILDREN UNDER 6:
Present only two or three situations at a time. Play "what if" games so that your child will enjoy being able to give you the correct answer. Repeat the material until you feel that your child has really mastered it. Review four times a year.
FOR CHILDREN OVER 6:
Children in this age group have a longer attention span and the ability to apply many solutions to a generalized subject. Several solutions can be discussed for each situation. Review twice a year.
THE SITUATIONS
SITUATION 1:
You are at a big store (or a shopping mall, etc.) You stop for a minute to see something and when you look up, your mother (or father) has disappeared. You are lost.
WHAT TO DO:
If you are lost, call loudly for your parents. If they do not hear you and come right away, go to a sales clerk behind a counter or by the cash register and tell him/her what is wrong. If there is a security guard in the store, you could ask that person for help. Stay in the store where you last saw your parents. Do not wander. If you are in a shopping mall, go to the nearest store and tell a store employee you need help. If someone besides your parents or the adult you came with tells you to go with them or leave the store, make a noisy scene. Say in a loud voice, "THIS IS NOT MY MOM/DAD!" This will alert other adults who will help you.
COMMENTS:
Teach your children their full name, address and phone number.
SITUATION 2:
You are playing in front of your house and an adult neighbor stops in their car and says "Hop in the car, let's go get some ice cream." What would you do?
WHAT TO DO:
You should always check first with your parents or the older person in charge of you before you accept a ride even from someone you know.
COMMENTS:
Teach your children that whenever they change their plans or have a question about how to deal with a situation, to be sure to check first with you or the adult who is in charge of them. Teach them to never approach a car even if someone is asking for their help or directions. They should come to you and let you make the decision whether to provide assistance.
SITUATION 3:
You are walking home when a grownup asks you to come with him or you notice someone following you.
WHAT TO DO:
"NO, GO, TELL & YELL" If you notice someone following you who makes you feel uncomfortable, you should cross the street or turn around and go back the way that you came. If anyone follows you or tries to grab you, scream and run to the nearest place where there will be many people (i.e., convenience store or busy intersection). DO NOT head for the first house you see (it could be empty) or run home if you know no one is there.
COMMENTS:
Take your child on a tour of the neighborhood. Point out safe public places where help could be obtained. Teach your child that if someone asks them to do something that makes them feel uncomfortable to say NO, to GO and to TELL a trusted adult and to YELL if they need immediate help.
OTHER SUGGESTIONS
- Teach your children the difference between an OK touch and a not OK touch. Respect their feelings.
- Teach them early that their bodies are special and private.
- Teach children that they have to say no if they do not want to be touched, even by relatives or other people they know.
- Never go into anyone's home without parental permission. Remember the check first rule.
- Have them tell you when an adult asks them to keep a "secret."
- Have them tell you if someone offers gifts, candy, money or car rides, or wants to take their picture.
- Be sensitive to any changes in your child's behavior or attitudes.
- Know your child's friends and their parents.
- Be involved with your child's activities.
REMEMBER, IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY.
- Be matter of fact in discussing safety with your children.
- Teaching them how to be safe should be no more frightening (and no less important) than teaching them not to play in traffic or touch a hot stove.
- Define what a stranger is. Let your children know that just because they see someone every day (for instance, the mailman, paperboy, milkman, neighbor) it does not mean that these people are not strangers.
- Teach your children that if they are being followed, and cannot run safely home or to a public place, they should yell for help.
- They should never just run and hide, because they may put themselves in an isolated location and vulnerable to attack.
- If someone grabs hold of your child, teach him/her to yell, bite, kick and to draw attention to the situation. They should yell, for example, "Help me, this is not my daddy/mommy."
- Never leave your children unattended in a vehicle. Some people who wouldn't think about leaving their wallet exposed on the seat of their car do leave their children so exposed.
- Avoid dressing your children in clothing that has their names printed on them. Make sure that your children know that just because someone knows their name, does not mean the person knows them. Children are less fearful of someone who calls them by name.
- Take a look at your children daily. Know what they were wearing when they left the house.
- Teach your children their full name, address and telephone number, including area codes. Teach your child how to use a telephone. Practice using a pay telephone. Post emergency telephone numbers at the phone, not somewhere where your child will have to search for them. Include: police, fire department, ambulance and friends and neighbors close by. Write in your address near these numbers so your child can easily let authorities know the location.
- Never allow your children to approach a car to offer directions. Abductors will prey upon a child's sense of sympathy. ("I have lost my puppy. Can you help me find him?") Teach your children that adults rarely ask children for help. If someone asks them for directions or help in finding something, your children should be taught to ignore them and go home or to another safe place.
- Give your children permission to say NO to an adult. Be sure they realize that not every adult has authority over children, especially if that adult has asked your children to do something wrong.
- Know your children's route to school.
- Encourage children to use the buddy system. A child who is part of a group is less vulnerable than a child who goes alone.
- Be involved in your child's activities.
- Know the locations of places he/she goes.
- Know all of the adults that your child will be associated with. Know the names of your children's friends. Know where they live and how to reach them. Too many parents do not know who their children's friends are -- particularly with teenagers.
If you suspect an abduction, concealment, or any custodial interference, call the Arkansas Missing Children Services Program (AMCSP) toll-free at 1-800-448-3014. Send available documentation to the AMCSP, FAX (501) 682-6704. If you desire, your inquiries can be confidential. The Arkansas Missing Children Services Program is located in the Community Relations Division of the Attorney General's office.
