Today we are going to discuss parental preparation in terms of keeping kids safe and coming home every night.
- Know where your children are and who they are with at all times.
- Stick together when on a shopping excursion.
- Keep a spare cell phone with you that they can carry with them while in the store.
- Think security before convenience.
- Do not leave your kid unattended in the car while you run an errand.
- Resist the temptation to send the kids to the toy or electronics section by themselves.
- That is how Adam Walsh was kidnapped.
- Know the full names, addresses and phone numbers of your children’s friends and their parents.
- Discuss with your child how to react if approached by a stranger, what to do and who to contact.
- Tagging Clothing
- It is a bad idea for things your child is wearing or carrying to bear their name on the outside.
- Tagging the insides of socks, books, jackets, shirts, and pants and skirts with important phone numbers in permanent marker is also a good idea.
- Know what your child is wearing every day.
- What color shirt?
- What color pants?
- What color shoes?
- Keep up-to-date files on your children.
- Recent photographs
- Complete physical description
- Medical/ Dental records
- fingerprints.
- Hair sample
- Maps
- Use Google Maps to map the walking routes between school, after-school activity locations and the houses of your children’s friends.
- Routes to map are:
- Your house to school and back
- School to after school activity and back
- School to a friend’s house and then to your house
- Friend’s house to your house and back
- Routes to map are:
- Use your state’s sex offender registry
- Most sex offender registries will list both the last known address of the offender and the offender’s place of employment (if any)
- Overlay the locations of sex offenders with the routes to school, home, and friends’ houses.
- Include walking directions from key locations back to home in your child’s backpack.
- Use Google Maps to map the walking routes between school, after-school activity locations and the houses of your children’s friends.
- Choose a secret code word to use with your children in case of an emergency.
- Tell them never to go with anyone who does not know the code word.
- Some predators will resort to police impersonation.
- A real cop would understand and respect the code word rule and gladly make an effort to verify himself or get in contact with a loved one.
Resources
- Virginia Sex Offender Registry
- Maryland Sex Offender Registry
- DC Sex Offender Registry
- Counter-Abduction Principles
Related articles
- Our Children, and the Danger of Strangers (yazrooney.wordpress.com)
- Evoling the stranger danger talk (amandahassen.wordpress.com)
- How to Talk to Kids About Strangers Without Scaring Them (thevoiceforchildren.wordpress.com)
- Life Lessons: How to Teach Your Kids about Safety and Strangers (vaned.typepad.com)
- Sheriff says check the sex offender registry before taking kids trick-or-treating (radioiowa.com)
- SCHOOL WARNING: Sex Offender Loiters By School (whotv.com)
- Links: Sex offender registries (fox13now.com)
- Active Shooter Drills (mucdre.wordpress.com)
- Crime Tracker: Personal Safety Tips For Kids (khq.com)
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