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Make Your Holidays Safer: Tips from The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

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Safety Tips for the Holiday Season
How to Make Your Holidays Safer

When in a public facility always accompany children to the restroom.
Tell children to avoid adults asking for assistance or directions of any kind. Grown-ups do not ask children for help.
If children become separated from you while holiday shopping, teach them to look for people who can be sources of help within the store. For example, a uniformed security officer, store salesperson with a nametag, the person in the information booth, or a uniformed police officer can help them. They should not leave the area, and they should never leave the mall and go to the parking lot to try and find their car.
Tell children never to leave a store with an unknown person no matter what that person tells them.
For children staying home alone on school vacation, teach them not to open the door, and teach them how to call 911 or 0 for emergencies.
Teach children how to answer the telephone and to make sure that they do not let anyone know they are home alone. Have the telephone number of a neighbor or other trusted adult available for their use.
Children should always CHECK FIRST with you or a person in charge before they go anywhere. It is important to know who they are with, and their whereabouts at all times.
Children need to use the BUDDY SYSTEM when going places. It's more fun and much safer.
Children should say NO then GO and TELL about any suspicious incidents and report them to a parent, school official, clergy member, or other trusted adult. Children should tell a trusted adult about anything that is frightening, confusing, or makes them uncomfortable or uncertain.
Parents should not leave children alone at public facilities such as video arcades or playgrounds as a convenient "babysitter" while they are holiday shopping. Sexual predators have been known to frequent these places to gain access and make contact with children.

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Copyright © 2001 National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Reprinted with permission.

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