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Safety Articles - Stranger Safety Tips For Children
Stranger Safety Tips For Children
by: Dovid B. Kaplan
Compiled from materials from: the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the FBI,
Amber Alert, Escape School, California’s Attorney General and several other child safety agencies.
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| Please print and give this article to children and teenagers to read; and read and explain this to younger children. |
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Dear Children,
Here are some safety tips to help you know what to do if a stranger approaches you.
Strange adults should never ask for directions or any other information from a child. Adults know that they should not call children over. Strangers will know that you are not talking to them for safety reasons, they won’t think you are being rude or disrespectful.
If a stranger calls you to his or her car you should immediately run in the opposite direction that the car is facing, because it will be much harder for him or her to follow you. Immediately run to your house, a friend’s house , a shul, a store or gas station that you know is open, or a busy street. You should never run to a backyard or the back door of a house, or any empty area. If you just think a car or a person may be following you, immediately run away, before you even find out what the person wants.
If the stranger continues to follow you, and you can’t run to any of the places we just spoke about, shout “help, help” loudly, ring the bell, and bang hard on the door of any house. It does not need to be a house with an "Alef" in the window.
If someone tries to grab you, bite, kick, punch, pull hair, and fight in any way you can to get away. Yell “help, this is not my parent.” Run away as fast as you can.
Immediately after any incident where someone was following you, tell your parents or an adult you trust. If no one is around and you were chased, call the police immediately.
If Chas Vishalom someone forces you into a car, immediately try to get out by trying to open the door, yelling, kicking, and fighting. Try to put up a fuss so that it will be harder for the person to drive away. If you can break a window, there is more of a chance that someone will notice something is wrong.
Try to avoid walking down empty streets alone, both during the day and especially at night. If you must walk alone, then try to walk on busy streets as much as possible.
If you are home alone, never answer the door. If someone calls to speak to your parents, tell them your parents can't come to the phone and ask to take a message. Never tell people that your parents are not home.
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You don’t have to be scared, just be prepared!
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You are welcome to reprint and distribute this article, as long as you do not change it.
Please email your comments on this article to: Dovid@HatzolahEMS.org |
| Links |
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Escape School ®
Dignity Memorial Escape School is a nationally recognized program that teaches children and parents how to recognize deceptive practices of a would-be-kidnapper while demonstrating escape tactics children can use in case of abduction.
National Center for Missing and Exploited Children
SafeState
California Attorney General's Crime and Violence Prevention Center
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Glossary - Chas Vishalom: an expression meaning G-d forbid.
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