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You should ensure your children know that their safety is your priority. Reinforce the importance of specific safety measures such as situational awareness and setting boundaries. Read on for tips to keep your children safe from being abducted or kidnapped.

Safety at Home

Be Careful When Hiring Caregivers

Improving your child’s safety means surrounding them with trustworthy people. If you need help and require a nanny or a babysitter, you should conduct background checks to ensure they won’t jeopardise safety at home. It’s recommended that you hire someone from a reputable agency with references and records of their criminal history.

Emergency Contacts

Children should know how to memorise emergency numbers and keep critical information to know who to call should an incident happen. It can make it easier for them to contact relevant authorities when they are in danger. Keep a record of numbers they can call if you are not home, and always go through them with them to practice how they should respond if a worst-case scenario occurs.

Enhance Online Safety

Nowadays, children spend more time online connecting with friends or keeping up to date with educational programs. However, the internet won’t always be a positive and safe environment for them. You must improve their safety by setting clear rules and using parental controls to monitor what they do online.

Safety at School

Follow School Safety Measures

Most schools place security measures by conducting drills, assessing protocols, and ensuring effective procedures to promote safety. However, children might override such measures and downplay threat identification. It’s crucial to remind your children of the consequences of undermining school safety and to ensure they follow school rules.

Be Part of the School Safety Committee

As a parent, you should consider playing an active role in your child’s safety at school. This includes being part of the school safety committee to improve your understanding of what happens and behavioural factors that might compromise their security at school. Most importantly, it can help you with instant alerts in case there’s a potential immediate danger that can pose a risk to your children during school hours.

Inspect School Routes

Sometimes, unauthorised people will try to gain access to school premises, which can threaten your children’s lives. They might use different routes that parents aren’t familiar with. It’s essential for you to know all routes that lead to the school that can be used when escaping during an emergency.

Other Things to Consider

Your child’s safety should be a priority, even when playing outdoors. Consider educating your child about controlled and safe environments. Additional safety measures include:

• Teach them about the dangers of speaking to strangers.
• Give them tips to improve how they observe their surroundings.
• Consider self-defence classes.
• Explain that safety is enhanced in numbers.
• Empower them to maintain personal boundaries and to trust their intuition.
• Create an emergency phrase or password.
• Install the iER App on their phone.

In summary, you should urge your children to learn more about safety and inform them about the spike in missing children nationwide. Supervision and creating a safe environment can help reduce the risk of widespread abductions and kidnappings. Make sure to download the free-to-use iER App to access rapid response services when you send a silent or general alert in case of an emergency.