Greetings parents and kids! Officer Friendly here with some helpful tips on keeping kids safe this school year.
Sometimes kids get home from school before their parents or other family members get home from work. I’m going to give you some quick tips on how you can help promote safety both on the way home and at home.
- The Buddy System: Find a friend to walk with them. If they don’t have a buddy, have a plan to connect with your kids at a designated time during the day.
- Safe Adults: Choose safe adults (perhaps 3) who you trust and your children know are their safe adults. These adults might even have a code word that only you, your children and that adult know. These would be the only people authorized to pick up your kids from school in an emergency. This teaches kids to refuse rides from strangers or even people they kind of know, but are not on your safe list.
- Personal Space: Sometimes kids let strangers get too close, but teaching them about personal space will help them learn to run away if a stranger comes toward them.
- Locking Up: Remind children to keep the doors locked when home alone, and if someone knocks at the door or calls on the telephone, don’t answer. If they think a stranger is trying to get into the house, call (911)!
- Safe Routes: Map out a safe route home. Walking the route with your child and asking them what they think about it will also help. This also gives you an opportunity to point out safe places to go if they think someone is following them.
- After school: Parents might also choose to look into after school programs, homework clubs, or libraries where kids can go after the school day ends.
- Talk About It: Some kids might be afraid to walk home alone after school, or to be home alone, but might not tell you. Asking them how they feel will help you to know, and together you can create a safe solution.
These are just a few tips from Officer Friendly!
The “Officer Friendly” column is provided to Coachella Valley Kids by the Riverside Sheriff. This issue’s “Officer Friendly” is Stacey Austin, Community Service Officer, Palm Desert Police Crime Prevention.
