Are your kids equipped to make the right decisions when you aren’t with them? Do your kids know what to do in case of an emergency? Raising street-smart kids who can react to what’s going on around them will improve their chances of staying safe and making the right choices in life. When it comes to personal safety, kids who learn and think differently may be more vulnerable than other kids. So how can you teach your child about “safe” and “unsafe” people? Start with these tips.
Teach your child to be aware of their surroundings
Now, more than ever, kids are distracted from the world because they stare at a screen. Parents will teach their children to put down the phone when they drive, but many forget to teach their children to put down the phone when they walk. Walking with your head looking down and distracted by a screen makes your child an easy target for profiling, mugging, kidnapping, and other offenses.
Teach your child to walk with their head up. Walk with confidence and direction. When you walk with purpose and are aware of your surroundings, you minimize your appeal to be threatened. Plus, don’t just talk about walking with purpose and the phone put away, but also have your child physically practice it. Muscle memory is sometimes what people have to rely on when in a tense and unfamiliar situation. Creating all the lessons today into muscle memory by repeatedly acting out scenarios is, hands down, the most effective way to teach your child these lessons. They will remember them and use them in times of need.