Safety tips for keeping children safe:

• Make sure your children know their full name, address (including city and state) and phone number with area code.
• Be sure kids know to call 9-1-1 or “0” in emergencies. Practice making emergency calls with a make-believe phone.
• Tell them never to accept rides or gifts from someone they and you don’t know well.
• Teach children to go to a store clerk, security guard, or police officer for help in lost in a mall or on the street.
• Set a good example with your own actions — lock doors and windows and see who’s there before opening the door.
• Take time to listen carefully to your children’s fears and feelings about people or places that scare them or make them feel uneasy. Tell them to trust their instincts.
• Encourage your children to walk and play with friends, not alone. Tell them to avoid places that could be dangerous — vacant buildings, alleys, playgrounds or parks with broken equipment and litter.
• Make sure your children are taking the safest routes to and from school, stores, and friends’ houses. Walk the routes together and point out places they could go for help.
• Encourage kids to be alert in the neighborhood, and tell an adult — you, a teacher, a neighbor, a police officer — about anything they see that doesn’t seem quite right.
• Check out the school’s policies on absent children — are parents called when a child is absent?
• Check out daycare and after-school programs — look at certifications, staff qualifications, rules on parent permission for field trips, reputation in the community, parent participation, and policies on parent visits.
• Check babysitter references.

If children are home alone:

• Leave a phone number where you can be reached. Post it by the phone, along with numbers for a neighbor and emergencies — police and fire departments, paramedics, and the poison control center.
• Have your child check in with you or a neighbor when he or she gets home. Agree on rules for having friends over and going to a friend’s house when no adult is home.
• Make sure your child knows how to use the window and door locks.
• Tell your child not to let anyone into the home without your permission, and never to let a caller at the door or on the phone know there’s no adult home. Kids can always say their parents are busy and take a message.
• Work out an escape plan in case of fire or other emergencies. Rehearse with your children.