Keeping Your Child Safe: Fires And Kidnapping

Keeping Your Child Safe: Fires And Kidnapping

5 Jan 2018 | 3 min Read

Swati Popat

Author | 7 Articles

It is important to prepare  our children against unforeseen situations like fires, getting lost and kidnapping.

The recent news of fire at a terrace restaurant in Mumbai followed by riots in Mumbai have left us feeling unsafe again. These incidents go to show that accidents can be sudden and the best thing we can do is to teach ourselves and our children how to keep safe, physically and mentally.

 

Fire Safety

Schools and daycares are sitting ‘time bombs’ for a fire hazard.  Yes, fire safety is taken for granted but must not be so.

 

Conduct a fire drill at your home too, so kids become aware that emergencies have certain safety protocols.

 

Kidnapping

Kidnapping children is on the rise in many cities. Many parents and schools have reported that these kidnappers have adopted different ways to kidnap children. Recently, it was reported that these kidnappers are approaching maidservants that go to pick up children and they appeal to the maidservant to give them the child, they even offer money and threaten them.

Many also try to dupe the maid by saying we are from a local clinic and there is a free health test that all children have to mandatorily go through.

1. If you are dependent on your driver or maid servant to pick up your child, inform them not to hand over the child under any circumstances to anyone without speaking to you on video call.

2. Inform the school to handover the child only to the maid or driver after he/she shows the ID card.

3. Inform the school immediately in writing with a photo of the driver or maid if they have left your service. Please note your child may still go with them too. So, tutor your child also.

4. Inform the school bus attendant not to leave the child at the stop if no one is there. Tell him/her not to drop the child at the gate with the watch man as well.

GPS trackers on your child sound good as a safety measure but they only give you a sense of security. Please note that it is more important to teach your child about safety.

1. Teach children not to take any food items from drivers, maids (those not in charge of feeding them), and strangers. Know the food items that are loved by your child and then name these items.

2. Ensure that the mobile phone is not an addiction for your child otherwise predators can lure your child with the promise of a game on the mobile phone.

3. Test your child’s ability to follow this safety rule by asking a friend of yours to offer your child something. Don’t shout at your child for not following, it takes time, and that is why till your child is 6 years old, ensure that s/he is never left unattended.

4. When going to crowded places, make sure your child has a badge or paper with your details in his/her pocket, show this to your child and teach your child to show this if lost.

5. Always hold your child’s hand in public places, never ever let go. It is extremely traumatic for a child to be lost in such public places with hundreds of strangers.

 

Stay safe, be safe.

 

Also read: When your little one gets locked in a room alone…..

Explore the entire collection of articles: Child Safety

 

#childsafety #safety #swatipopatvats

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