Back to school is the perfect time to discuss stranger danger
COSHOCTON – There is no better time than back to school to talk to your children about stranger danger. Angie Moses, teacher of Safety City, gave some tips to parents and children on how to deal with being approached by strangers.
“If you don’t know the person, don’t go with them,” said Moses. “No matter what scenario they give. Even if they tell you they have candy or a puppy, nothing they say is worth going with them. Go with someone you know.”
Moses said parents should have conversations with their children about strangers no matter the child’s age.
“It doesn’t matter what age level they are, don’t go with anyone you don’t know,” she said. “There are adults being taken away, so if they can take adults away, they can take your kids away too.”
She also suggests coming up with a secret code that only the parent and child know.
“Make sure you have a password that only you and your child know,” she said. “Or use a type of code. Make sure if someone else comes to pick up your child from school, the child asks, what’s the code? You also should change the code occasionally, and make sure your child knows this is a secret between them and you and they don’t tell their friends.”
It is also a good idea to keep your child’s name off of clothing, backpacks, hats, coats, anything that would be visible to someone else. If your child has a unique name, tell your child if someone can’t pronounce their name or asks them their name, not to go with that person.
If at all possible, contact your child’s school if there is an emergency and someone else needs to pick up your child.
“Make sure if you have someone else picking up your kid from school that your child knows the person too, not just you,” she said.
To learn more about tips to avoid stranger danger, visit www.mychildsafety.net/stranger-danger.
beth@coshoctoncountybeacon.com
Category: Education
