BACK TO SCHOOL SAFETY TIPS FOR YOUR CHILD | CASP BABY MOMMY AND ME BOUTIQUE | VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

Imagine this: your child is at camp during the day. When you go to pick him up, you find out that during a hike on a local trail, he was separated from the group, along with another younger child. After walking for a half a mile through the woods, they come to a school parking lot. By this time, the younger child is scared and crying. A stranger in a car drives up to the children, rolls down the window and asks if they are lost. Your child says yes. Seeming kind, the driver opens the passenger side door and tells the kids to get in and they will help them get back to where they need to be.

TIPS FOR WALKING OR RIDING THE BUS TO SCHOOL

• Hold hands crossing the street with an adult until 10 years of age
• Stay on the sidewalk and never play in the street while waiting for the bus or walking to school
• Always cross the street at street corners using traffic lights or in a cross walk
• Never walk behind a bus. Stay 10 feet in front of or 10 feet behind when crossing the street, and be sure your child can see the driver when crossing in front of the bus.
• If your child is walking to school, map out a safe route that they should use daily, and do a trial run with them before the first day to point out places they should avoid, like construction sites, vacant lots, or parks where there aren’t many people
• Never talk to strangers, go with them, or accept gifts from them without the permission of a parent or their teacher

SAFETY TIPS WHILE IN SCHOOL OR AT AN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITY

• Always stay with an adult
• Check with the adult before leaving with anyone, even someone they know, unless that was already the plan
• Tell an adult if you see someone suspicious hanging around school
• Never play on broken or cracked equipment at school, and tell your teacher if you see something wrong

OTHER TIPS TO KEEP YOUR KIDS SAFE

• Help your children memorize their full name, address, and phone number. Write down other emergency contacts on a card for your child to keep in their book bag at school. You can even laminate a card with your child’s info and sew it to the inside of his/her bag
• Never have your child’s name labeled on the outside of a bag, lunch box, or t-shirt because strangers can call out their name, pretending to know them.
• Bullies are everywhere. Let your child know that if he or she is being bullied or sees someone else being bullied, that it’s ok to talk with you, a teacher, or another adult they trust.
• Prevent bullying by role playing with your child in various scenarios, such as pretending to be a child who has left their lunch money at home, who is crying, or who is different than your child in some way. (You can also teach stranger danger this way!)

CREATE OR BUY A CHILD’S EMERGENCY KIT

There are various emergency kits you can purchase for your child, in case of an emergency at home or school but if you’re like me, you’d love to create your own. Some premade ones have a shelf life of 5 years, or you can replenish your homemade one with fresh items on a regular basis. Some key items to include are:

• drinking water
• protein rich snacks (nuts, protein bars)
• poncho
• facial tissue
• bandaids
• flashlight (some companies make manual ones that wind up which don’t require batteries)

Use these tips to keep your child safe as they go back to school, and all throughout the year!