by The summer vacation is almost just around the corner and your child can think about more independence. Especially if they have been in primary school in recent years.
In the summer months you may want to go to the park, visit the shops or go to the house of a friend without an adult having your style.
While it was common to spend a few decades ago outside the supervision, an increase in traffic and 24-accessible news means that we bring us a stronger awareness of perceived dangers that many of us are not willing to let our own children do the same.
The average British children in Great Britain can only last 10.7 years, while their parents remember that they were allowed to be approved at around 8.9 years, according to the British Children’s Play Survey published in 2021. A survey from 2017 showed that the main reasons hesitated the parents to let their children of a younger age out of the fear of abduction and traffic safety.
How can we bring our children to safety and are strangers really a danger?
Talk to them about personal security
If you believe that your children are mature enough and are ready to go out alone, it is important that you are unable to have “non-charging” conversations with you about your safety.
“I think parents have to be aware of someone when their child is outside – people they know their child and people who don’t do,” she says. “In the 70s, when I was at school, it was very ‘foreign drove’, but that suggested that the children who they knew was okay.
“At the NSPCC we do not concentrate at the risk of the stranger. It is more about personal security because we know that children are more abuse of someone they know.”
Teach them if it is certain to go out alone
While there is no legal age if children can go out alone, many schools will not allow them to go home without adults until they are at least eight. Parents have the obligation to protect their children, and if they believe that their child is ready, they may have to sign a approval form from school.
“It is a good idea to build yourself for your child that goes out alone,” says Westerman. She recommends:
-
First try short distances like something to buy something from local business or publish a letter, maybe with a friend
-
First of all, you can also go routes that you may use with you, so you are sure how you are on your way
-
Set boundaries with your child before it goes out alone so that you know what you can do and what not, e.g. B. avoiding abbreviations and not after darkness
Tell them when you should call 999
WESTERMAN says that the advice is: “Do not go with anyone, even if you know you unless you can inquire about a parent or a trustworthy adult at home.”
When a car drives up next to a child, she adds: “I would ask the child not to deal with this adult, but to go home. If you are concerned and near a safety location, i.e. a school or a house you know should go to this place.”
The NSPCC also advises that if it feels uncomfortable, a child should call a parent or a trustworthy adult. If you feel like you are in direct danger, you should call 999.
Westerman suggests talking to her child about how it would deal with certain situations. “You could try to bring this into the story of the third person so that they don’t panic excessively,” she says. “For example: ‘What would your advice be to a friend who said that?'”
Make sure you know the basics
The NSPCC recommends ensuring that your children know your address and your full name and your phone number by heart so you can call you or ask for help if you are lost.
If you have a cell phone, make sure it is fully charged before you leave the house and make sure that you have saved important contact numbers. And do not forget traffic safety, including in both directions, cross a safe place and not from your phone or friend when you cross the street.
If you use technology, tell you why
GPS tracking devices and mobile phone apps such as LIFE360 enable parents to keep an eye on their children’s whereabouts, and says Westerman, “Technology definitely has a place” if they bring children to safety.
“As long as children know that parents use it and why they use it, it can be very useful,” she says. “It could be a family agreement that mom or dad or who shares their location with the child at home.”
