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Home Alone and Stranger Danger Safety Tips

Help keep your kids safe when they're home alone

If you must leave your children home alone, following these rules will make them safer:

• Teach children never to answer the phone; an answering machine will not give away the fact that parents are not around.
• Write down important phone numbers for them, including 911 because children may forget it in an emergency. Also write down numbers for people who can come over quickly before the police arrive such as: next door neighbors and neighbors across the street.
• Teach them never to open the door pretend no one is home.
• If a stranger gets into the home teach your children to get out quickly and run to a neighbor's home.
• Stay in touch with children Call throughout the day to ask how they are and what they are doing. Ask children to check in before they leave the house and to call again when they return.
• Set firm rules make clear what children are allowed to do and what they are not allowed to do.

Stranger Danger

Most strangers are nice people, however, some are not. Unfortunately you cannot tell if a stranger is good or bad just by looking at him or her but you can tell if a situation is good or bad. If a child is asked to do something without his or her parents' permission, or to go somewhere alone with an adult, a dangerous situation may occur. If a child feels uncomfortable or scared, the situation may be dangerous. Here are some suggestions to help teach children what to do if they feel something is wrong.

• Explain what a stranger is let them know strangers don't look like monsters or aliens, but instead may look like mom and dad.
• Teach children "No, Go, Yell, Tell." Teach them to say no, run away, yell as loud as they can and tell someone they trust if they think they are in a dangerous situation and not to worry about feeling embarrassed or hurting the person's feelings.
• Know where your children are at all times - Make a rule that your children must have permission and they should check in with you before going anywhere or with anyone. Make sure children have a phone number where you can be reached at all times.
• Discuss safe places in the neighborhood - show them safe places to play, safe roads and paths to take and safe places to go if there is trouble.
• Teach children to trust their instincts - Let them know if they ever feel scared or uncomfortable, to get away from the situation quickly and tell an adult they trust. Reassure children that you will help them when they need it.

For more information:

McGruff's Child Safety