HALLOWEEN AND HOLIDAY SAFETY
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TEACHING CHILDREN SAFETY BEFORE MANNERS
KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Talk to your children directly about the kinds of dangers that do exist – bad guest dangers, friend of a friend dangers, dangers of adults asking for help. Remind children that accidental danger risks are higher for them than intentional harm dangers. Teach children, above all, to place their safety above manners and to trust their intuition, their “Spider Sense.”
Talk to your children about the types of lures utilized by child predators – mail lure, lost pet lure, help me lure and directions lure. Teach children how to find a safe place in any situation and how to call and talk to 911.
911 Call Info- name, location, why you need help, leave phone connected.
DID YOU KNOW?
- About 260,000 children are abducted each year. 75% of these are “family abductions,” made by another family member to deprive the caretaker of custodial rights. About 58,000 or 22% are “non-family” abductions usually occurring in connection with another crime.
- Over 50% of non-family abductions occur in the street, from a car, or from a park or wooded area. 45% of the abductors are strangers, 55% are known as friends, neighbors, a baby sitter or person of authority.
- Child predators go after children of all ages – 59% are children 15 to 17 years old, 22% are children 12 to 14 years old. The FBI reports there is a sexual predator for every square mile in the U.S.
- The National Center For Missing and Exploited Children tells us that one in every four girls and one in every seven boys will be
sexually molested before the age of 18.
-Predators view the Internet as a tunnel into the bedroom of your child. One in five children will be sexually solicited while on-line this year.
- Personal safety training with children should be a regular practice around holidays. Parties, families visiting, guests and the distraction of events is the perfect cover for abusive or exploitive situations
with your children.
Teach children above all else to trust their internal alarm.
CHILD SAFETY AND HALLOWEEN
Children love to have fun and Halloween is an exciting time for children. Halloween is a great opportunity to remind children of three primary lifestyle pillars – fitness, healthy eating and personal safety.
Remember, your children will likely be alone when their
safety training skills will be tested.
This holds particularly true at Halloween and other fall holidays.
~ Walk purposefully, communicate calm and confidence. This is a personal safety must and can be taught to children as soon as they begin to walk. Teach children to always be alert to what is going on around them.
~ Choose a Halloween costume that is fireproof and affords full visibility. If the costume includes props of any kind, be sure they are smooth and flexible and do not create a fall or poke hazard. Use reflective tape on wrists or ankles to add sparkle to any costume. Flash lights make a great prop.
~ Look for Halloween events that do not involve a house-to-house Trick or Treat. Times are not what they once were. Most communities, high schools recreation centers and activity programs host great Halloween events. Encourage older children to pass on a house-to-house Trick or Treat.
~ Never Trick or Treat alone. Always Trick or Treat in groups and use a one-to-one buddy system within the group, even for teens. Talk to children and teens before house to house activities about how to maintain their safety. Only Trick or Treat houses with front porch lights on. Always go to the door with your buddy. Never go into a house - even for a moment, be polite but do not allow any person to touch, hold or pick you up.
~ Be careful around pets and other animals. Pets are easily over excited and costumes often spook otherwise calm animals. Be very cautious around animals when in costume and never reach out for them when masked.
~ Cross the street at corners and look both ways before crossing. Remind children and teens to walk away from the edge of bushes and avoid dark spots on streets, at alleyways and anyplace someone could lay in wait. Teach children how to present a personal fence to draw attention and how to say “Stay Back!” or “Leave Me Alone!” Teach children how to “Go Crazy” if they are grabbed or pulled by a predator.
Resources: FBI SMSA, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, U.S. Bureau of Justice
The National Center For Missing And Exploited Children
Warrior Personal Safety Training Programs
www.WarriorPersonalSafety.com
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