Keeping children
safe in the festive season.
As the nights
get darker and colder, we seem to want to hibernate, activities are indoors and
hot drinks replace cool cordials. But for some reason our children, these
strange creatures, want to be outside, and season events like Halloween and
Bonfire night agree with the children and make us leave the warmth of the home
and head outside. But being around huge groups of strangers on dark nights,
what can we do to make sure our children stay safe.
The younger ones
are easier as the first precaution would be to hold their hands. This keeps the
parents happy in the knowledge that their child is safe and stops the little
one wandering off. As a second precaution, a wrist strap or brace would give
them a little more freedom but still give you piece of mind. Also writing your
address and phone number on a piece of paper and slipping it into their pocket,
should the worst happen and they slip away, the paper will help identify them
and return them to you quickly.
As the children
get older its harder to keep an eye on them in a crowd. A child of maybe ten
wouldn’t want to hold onto mums hand, ‘so uncool’ and probably wouldn’t want to
walk to close to you either. This is where long talks of ‘strangers’ come in.
also most large events are covered by security easily identified by badges and
high visibility vests. Point these out to your children as a figure they can
talk to if they get lost. Finding a well lit, public spot, preferably easy to
find, maybe next to a billboard or other distinguishable object, to stand is a
good idea and try not to leave it, tell your child that this is where you will
be all evening in case they wander off they will be able to get back. The note
in the pocket is still a good idea at this age too.
As your little
ones turn into teenagers, they always know best. It becomes harder to
give them a lot of rules to follow. Even if they do attend a big event with
you, they probably wont want to stay with you and will head off to find their
friends. Again, have the ‘stranger’ talk, children are never too old for this,
even if they think they are. Try to arrange beforehand, where they are going to
meet their friends and who is going to be there. Tell them to keep valuables
hidden, a brightly lit mobile phone is easy pickings in a crowded place. Give
them a time to meet you and stress that severe punishments, like phone
confiscation, will be in place if they mess up. Again, point out the security
men and women. A moody teenager will not want to listen but giving the info is
free and could come in handy. So bare with the ‘oh mam’ complaints and put
everything in place to keep them safe.
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