Safety First: Child Safety Tips for Parents

Child Safety Tips for Parents

Teaching Children to Use 9-1-1

Parents can use the following safety tips to teach their children the proper way to use 9-1-1 to report emergencies:

  • Never say "nine eleven." There is no eleven on a telephone keypad or dial. Always say "nine-one-one."
  • Always call from a safe place. If there is a fire in the house, get out first and then call.
  • Post your address near the phone.
  • Never call 9-1-1 as a prank or joke. You can get into trouble and keep someone who really needs help from getting it in time.
  • 9-1-1 is not for animal emergencies. Call your vet or the Animal Control Center.
  • Call 9-1-1 if you think you have an emergency and explain the situation to the dispatcher.
  • If you call 9-1-1 by mistake, don't hang up. Explain the mistake to the dispatcher and say there is no emergency.

Child Abduction

The number of children reported missing each year is staggering. The following precautions will help protect your child from abduction:

  • Teach your children how to use telephones to call home, other places you might be, and 9-1-1 in an emergency. Also teach them how to answer the phone and door when you are not at home.
  • Update regularly the photos and descriptions of your children in your home file. Have a set of fingerprints and footprints made.
  • Know where your children are at all times. Never leave them unattended in a public place.
  • Be sure your child knows what to do if you become separated in a public place.
  • Explain to your child who a stranger is.
  • Choose a secret word to use with your children in an emergency or a situation in which another person is picking them up.
  • Explain in a non-frightening way tactics child abductors might use. Also tell your child how to respond.
  • Walk to school with your child and point out possible danger spots like alleys and vacant lots. Ask neighbors to provide a "safe home" in an emergency.
  • Be cautious in selecting others to care for your child.
  • Listen to anything your child wants to report and discuss.
  • Watch our Street Smarts video with them.

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