GEORGE NEWS - The holiday season is approaching fast and our normal routines will be disrupted, whether we stay at home or go away. This is a time when children are especially vulnerable to abduction.
Teach your children these simple rules which could save their lives, not only on holiday but also during our daily lives at home.
What YOU should do:
• Know your child's whereabouts at all times.
• At a very early age, teach your child their name, address and telephone number and your first and last name.
• Teach them how to call 10111 for help.
• Make sure children know how to make local and long distance telephone calls.
• Teach your children to scream as loudly as possible, and that it is okay to do so when afraid.
• Never leave children alone in a car, not even for a few seconds.
• Establish strict procedures for picking up children at school, after movies, at friends' homes, etc.
• Establish a family code word that only you, your child and a trusted relative or friend knows. Teach your child to ask for the code word when approached by someone offering them a ride.
• Remind your children to never accept a ride from someone you don't know, even if the child knows them.
• Talk to your children about child abduction in a simple, non-threatening way.
• Listen to your child when he or she discusses anyone they have met or spoken with when you weren't around.
• Have photographs taken of your children at least four times a year (especially if they're pre-schoolers). Make note of birthmarks or other distinguishing features.
• Have your child fingerprinted and store the prints in a safe, easily accessible place in your home.
Teach your children to:
• Never leave home without your permission. Very small children should play only in areas away from the street, such as a backyard, or in a play area supervised by a responsible adult.
• Never wander off.
• Avoid lonely places, and avoid shortcuts through alleys or deserted areas. They are safer walking or playing with friends.
• Come straight home from school unless you have made other arrangements.
• Never enter anyone's home without your approval.
• If accosted by a stranger in a mall, scream 'This is not my Daddy!' and get behind the nearest shop counter.
• Scream, run away and tell you or a trusted adult if anyone attempts to touch or grab them, of if a stranger offers them a ride.
• Never give any information over the telephone including their name and address, and never indicate they are alone.
• Keep doors locked and admit only authorised people into the house.
Adapted from http://sheriff.org/safety/abduction.cfm
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