Personal safety – teach your children well

‘PERSONAL safety simply must be part of your child’s education, and should be taught throughout the year.’

And security guru Ivan Govender – ADT Security KZN District Manager – says the September holidays are a great time to instill some good habits in your children, and do some drills so that your children react habitually when they need to.

Instead of starting these safety training sessions anew, he says it makes more sense to instill a sense of responsibility with your children that they follow throughout the year.

‘As much as we would love to look after our children 24/7, there will come a time when they have to fend for themselves. We have to prepare and equip them.’

‘Your kids must know to always keep all entrances and gates closed and locked and that nobody is allowed to enter without permission from either parent,’ he says.

‘If you have a home security system installed teach them how to activate and deactivate it and how and when to use other security devices like panic buttons.’

He adds that it is a good idea to have a list of emergency contact numbers available and that your children know who to contact if they need help.

‘This should be displayed prominently, and show telephone numbers for the local police station, your private security company, the emergency number for your neighbourhood watch, and possibly a trusted adult.

‘If your child must leave the safety of your home for whatever reason, make sure they tell you where they are going and when they are expected to arrive.’

Further tips

• Teach your children to memorise their name, surname, home address and contact details for one of their parents.

• Agree on a code word with your children, which would be used in a situation where someone else needs to fetch them from home or from a place they had been visiting.

This code word would be a sign that the person collecting them has genuinely been sent by a parent and could be trusted.

• Stranger danger – teach your children to be wary of being encouraged to leave a safe space by an unknown adult, for any reason. Child kidnappers often lure children from parks and safe spaces with promises of showing them puppies, or giving them a treat.

• Do a drill at home with your alarm. Have a family meeting and pretend that the adult in the home has fallen, and needs medical assistance.

Teach your children how to activate panic buttons and what to say when their security company calls.

• Personal safety should also include safety on the road. Teach your children how to safely cross a road, and to look both ways and cross at marked crossings.

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