It seems like every time you turn on the television, log onto your social media account, or visit your favorite online newspaper, a tragedy involving a child is headlining. Keeping kids safe is always a top priority but, with a new school year approaching, implementing a back to school safety program is essential.
Kids today are faced with more challenges than previous generations. A lot of this can be attributed to the internet. The lure of instant fame coupled with portable recording devices has caused some students to take risks with their safety and those of their classmates. Bullies still exist but they are even nastier and deadlier than generations past with weapons finding their way into school lockers. And then there are the bad adults who somehow get past school security checks and victimize the children.
Implementing a back to school safety program is one way to help your kids deal with a crazy world. Although the instinct of most parents is to shield your child from harm, this will not benefit them in the long run. You need to give your kids strategies for handling the challenges they are confronted with on a daily basis.
Communication
At the heart of any back to school safety program is communication. This includes talking to them about the dangers in the world as well as listening to what is going on in their lives. Develop an atmosphere of open communication in your household where your children feel they can tell you anything.
This is important because perpetrators, and pedophiles especially, will use shame to make kids stay quiet about the things they are doing to them. Children are more likely to open up about problems if they feel you will listen and support them no matter what.
Additionally, don’t let your own shame or embarrassment stop you from talking to children about the things they will be confronted with in life. You may think your child is too young to know about drugs but the drug pushers stalking the playground won’t think so.
Now that we’ve talked about the major requirement of a back to school safety program, here are some practical tips for keeping your kids safe.
Monitor Your Kid’s Social Media Activities – The minimum age for most social networking sites is 13 but kids as young as 10 are ignoring the rules and creating social profiles anyway. The worst part is that many parents don’t realize that their kids are on Facebook and Twitter but pedophiles and other deviants do. In addition to talking to your kids about internet safety, find and monitor their social networking profiles to make sure they are not inadvertently putting themselves at risk.
Understand the School’s Policy on Personal Protection Devices – Possibly the most controversial aspect of a back to school safety program is the use of personal protection devices. There are as many reasons why your child should carry them as there are reasons why they shouldn’t. But before you make any decision either way, you need to find out what the school’s policy is on students carrying around things like pepper spray and stun guns. If they are not allowed in the school, then your child could be expelled for carrying them around.
Have a Safe Place for Kid’s to Go Afterschool – There used to be a period of time when being a latchkey kid wasn’t a big deal. However, with home invasions on the rise, it is best that kids and teenagers have a safe place to go afterschool if you are not going to be home with them. Make arrangements with friends or enroll them in afterschool activities and always check in to make sure they arrived safely.
Enroll them in Self Defense Classes – A self defense class will teach kids how to physically defend themselves. But, even more than that, kids will gain self confidence as well as be taught other, important, life lessons. Additionally, self defense classes will keep kids busy and out of trouble.
Teach them How to Diffuse Tense Situations – Teaching kids interpersonal and conflict resolution skills can go a long way towards preventing problems from arising in the first place. You can enroll them in a formal class designed for kids or you can try role playing common situations they’ll run into at home. The goal is to teach kids how to handle tough situations before they get embroiled in them.
There are many aspects to an effective back to school safety program. For the most part, though, keeping the lines of communication open, monitoring their activities, and teaching them how to handle themselves will go a long way towards keeping your kids safe.
MicroInfoSource is a lifestyle blog that provides tidbits of useful information on a range of topics including marketing, home based business, holidays, fashion, home improvement, celebrities, product reviews, and much more.
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I so agree with you, bullies nowadays are so bad, it's frightening! My mother had to get my brother out of school and finish through correspondence because his school got so bad. Kids openly using drugs and taking weapons to school.
Yes, it's a very good idea to think of safety ways to get kids to be aware and safe at school.
Thanks for sharing with us.
That is awful about your brother. It's so sad because school used to be that once place where you could be sure that kids were safe. Nowadays, it has become the last place you would want to send your children. That's sad.
Hopefully teachers and parents will start working with each other rather than against each other to try and improve things. Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment
You're very welcome!